Golden Balance
by snafsnaf
Summary: An accidental reveal forces a final confrontation between Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Hawk Moth.
1. Chapter 1

**GOLDEN BALANCE**

*deep breath*

So this is my first MLB fan fiction. In the grand scheme of things it's not groundbreaking, but it's a big deal to me. I started to cobble this story together after watching the first season on Netflix, before I found a lot of the season 2 spoilers. I hope you enjoy it.

\- snafsnaf

Blurb: An accidental reveal forces a final confrontation between Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Hawk Moth.

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

Ladybug could tell something was up with Chat before they even started their patrol. Over the last four years, he had gradually changed from a flirtatious, punning chatterbox to a more mature partner. His humor was still there, often twinkling in the corners of his eyes, waiting for her to notice, but he rarely overtly complimented her on her beauty anymore. She trusted him now implicitly that if he touched her waist or arms, or if he draped himself across her shoulders, that he wasn't trying to put an unwelcome move on her.

By now, they were a perfect team. One word between them in a battle was usually enough to communicate an entire plan. They could read the subtlest changes in body positions, facial expressions, even each other's sighs that it could have passed for mind reading.

So when she saw him vaulting over the Paris skyline, she knew something was wrong. He wasted no time with pleasantries but simply asked her how she wanted to divide their patrol tonight.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. She and Chat didn't intentionally share any details that might reveal their identities. This secrecy had always been at her insistence, but Ladybug found herself increasingly prepared to make an exception if Chat really needed an ear

He shook his head curtly, his shaggy blond mane fluttering about. "Not now," he said. "But let's be quick. I have a favor to ask of you."

Off they went, meeting again at the Eiffel Tower in record time. It was a peaceful night.

"Now what's this favor?" Ladybug asked. Curiosity was beginning to eat at her.

"Not here," he wouldn't say. Instead, he leapt from the tower and over the city.

Ladybug pursued him to a rooftop they had used in the past for surveillance. The building was abandoned but not yet rundown. Chat Noir disappeared briefly into a doorway that led to stairs and then the street.

Ladybug waited for him to come back, but she could feel his mood eroding her own patience. Surely knowing would be better than this worry.

He came back with a black knit ski mask in his hand that he proceeded to pull over his head, tugging it down all the way over his face. Before she could even ask what was going on, he removed his miraculous ring and transformed into his regular self, the ski mask remaining in place to protect his identity.

"Chat! What is going on?" She could only gape at him.

"I need you to guard my miraculous for me," he said, holding out the ring to her. "Someone close to me has noticed that I always wear it. They've asked me to take it off and I won't. I'm worried they are getting suspicious, that they might believe that this is the cat miraculous. I don't trust them. I don't trust anyone but you."

Ladybug didn't reach for the ring. "What am I supposed to do with it?"

He shrugged. "Keep it safe for me, until we meet again. The regular me has to go out of town for work but I'll meet you back here in one week. That should hopefully be enough time to make everyone think the ring is unimportant. If it doesn't blow over by then, you may need to hold onto it a little longer."

"You're leaving Paris?" she asked, growing more nervous. Each of them had occasionally had to leave the city they had sworn to protect for various reasons, but neither one had felt completely at ease while the other was gone.

"I would never willingly desert you," he said, "but I'm worried that Nathalie is starting to suspect who I really am. I need to distract her."

Nathalie. They had always been so careful with names before. The only name she knew to associate with him was Plagg, his kwami. She didn't know if he had brothers or sisters. She had never heard him mention his mother. And now Chat was going out of town with some woman named Nathalie.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Ladybug asked with a uncomfortable twinge. How had he found the time to form the sort of relationship that involved out-of-town getaways when she had never found the inclination to continue the charade past the second date? Better still, iwhy/i did he have a girlfriend?

Everything in his posture told her that the suggestion was ridiculous before she could wonder if she was more jealous of Chat or the mysterious Nathalie. "No! She's more of a cross between an aunt and a manager. We work together, or something like that." Again he held out the ring to her.

Hesitantly she took it. "Is there anything else I should know?" Somehow knowing this much felt worse than the vague worry that had started her patrol.

Again he gave her that curt shake. "My Lady, we've never been much into those details. I need to go. It'll take longer to get home as my regular self than as Chat Noir. I'll see you in a week."

"I can take you," she offered, "at least part of the way."

He cocked his head to one side and she could envision the sad smile underneath the black knit. "Maybe next time." He disappeared through the doorway.

Ladybug listened to him climb down the stairs and then watched as he walked out of the building and along the sidewalk, toward a home she knew nothing about. In one hand, she squeezed the cat miraculous tightly. In the other, she toyed with her yoyo, debating with herself whether to follow him and secure his safety. She watched, paralyzed with indecision, until he was gone from view.

Seven days later, she was back on the same roof waiting for her Chat for hours, but he didn't come.

.o8o.

There had been an attack orchestrated by Hawk Moth earlier that week, but Ladybug's luck held and it had ended even before she had got there. A few people had been injured by a new evil champion but the akuma had rejected its host after only 15 minutes of destruction. Ambulances had arrived to take the wounded to the nearest hospital and her Lucky Charm was not even needed to reverse the minor property damage. Ladybug had never experienced anything like that before and she wondered what her nemesis was planning. She would have dearly loved to discuss everything with Chat, but he didn't show. She worried that Hawk Moth had gotten ahold of him, but then realized that her partner would be worthless and unrecognizable to the villain without the miraculous.

She hoped it was a simple misunderstanding, that he had gotten the days confused. She came back the next night, and the next. Always the rooftop was empty.

.o8o.

It took three weeks for her stray cat to find his way back to her. When he stepped out onto the rooftop in his ski mask, she practically threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

"You did miss me after all," he said in her hair, hugging her in return.

"What happened to you?" she said. "I was worried out of my mind."

"There was a complication," he said. "A very big complication. Did you bring my miraculous?"

She wasted no time in handing him a box filled with sugar cookies, macarons, a small wheel of cheese, and an ordinary-looking ring. "My Lady, you spoil me." His voice was as warm as caramel.

He put the ring on his finger and immediately a small, green-eyed black figure appeared. "It's about time, kid!" the kwami began to scold him.

"Hush, Plagg," Chat cut him off. "She brought you camembert."

"Are you going to tell me what happened to you?" asked Ladybug. "What kept you? You said one week, and it's been three." She didn't mean to sound needy, but he was her partner, her other half; she wasn't complete without him.

He sighed and sat on the roof slates. She joined him while he and his kwami picked through the treats she had brought.

"I was caught up in the attack a few weeks ago," he admitted, plucking out a chocolate macaron. "I was temporarily hospitalized. It was tough to get away right after that."

"You were there?" Had he attempted to help Ladybug in his regular form? Had he put himself needlessly in danger?

"Oh, it gets worse," he said before putting the whole cookie in his mouth. He didn't speak again until he had swallowed it. "Hawk Moth's champion grabbed me by my wrist - nothing's broken but it is still a little sprained. But when she had me in her clutches, I - I heard her talking with Hawk Moth. The magic was such that I couldn't hear his side of the conversation but I could hear hers. He was ordering her to release me unharmed. Well, no more harmed that I already was."

Chat stopped talking, stopped moving. He just sat there, pained. Ladybug reached out and held his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze, silently encouraging him to continue.

He set aside the box of treats and sighed. "I don't know what Hawk Moth said to her, like I said; I only heard her replies. She said, 'I don't care if he is your son. I will use him to have my revenge.' She was going to do something to me, I don't know what, but then the akuma left her trinket and she reverted back to her regular form. And that was the end of the attack."

Ladybug sat there blinking furiously, trying to take in this revelation. Even Plagg had stopped eating.

"Are you saying that your father is…" She couldn't form the words.

The young man nearly squirmed under the weight of her silence. He would have preferred to keep this guilt buried in his chest where it could devour him silently, but this wasn't about what he wanted. If it was, his father would have been someone else entirely.

But he had spent more than two weeks with this knowledge burning through him and no one to share it with to relieve the pressure. He had been under constant observation as he father waited for him to show some sign that he had heard and understood the champion's revelation. Plagg and his miraculous had been safe with Ladybug but that only left Chat alone and unprotected. His thoughts were a poor guide; while he could easily intuit any gaps in Ladybug's plans, she had always been the lead tactician. He was much better skilled at distraction, at taunting their present foe into betraying an exploitable weakness, but without his partner and his mask he didn't dare to provoke his father.

So he had decided to run away, to bring everything to Ladybug, to present the ugly truth and let her judge him: the fact that despite all his father's coldness, Chat had never once suspected the man; that Chat had spent his entire life under the roof of their nemesis; that Chat had put his miraculous in danger nightly; that Chat had an opportunity to attack Hawk Moth and had instead fled; that Ladybug's supposed partner was the heir to her enemy.

He'd had great hopes that after they defeated Hawk Moth, they would finally drop the masks and reveal their normal selves to each other. But it couldn't happen like that now. If he waited until Hawk Moth was bested to announce his relation to the villain, Ladybug would feel that she had been duped. And if his identity was accidentally revealed before then, she would feel an even greater betrayal. The only option was to reveal himself and his father now, and let her decide what to do with him.

In the best possible scenario, she should want to cut all ties with him. That was the only safe option. How could she trust anyone from Hawk Moth's family? She would ask for him to hand back his miraculous, find herself another partner - anybody else in Paris had to be a better choice than Hawk Moth's son -, and finally retrieve the moth miraculous.

And the soon to be former Chat Noir would have his life upended when his father's secret identity became common knowledge. Whatever else might befall him, however, the worst part would be that he never know who his other half was.

Chat took a deep breath and held it. He wasn't exactly thoughtless but his body tended to act faster than his brain could regulate. But he had been so confined under his father's guard recently that he had thought about more things than he could act on, and now he felt himself in danger of not taking the necessary actions. And the longer he postponed his reveal, the easier it became to keep delaying. But this wasn't about what his wants or comforts, he reminded himself with a forceful exhale.

Chat Noir chose this moment to remove his mask. "Ladybug, I am Adrien Agreste. And my father - Gabriel Agreste - is Hawk Moth."


	2. Chapter 2

**GOLDEN BALANCE**

It was terrifying to push publish on that first chapter. But the second chapter feels a lot easier. There are 10 chapters in total for this story, so but the time I wrap this up, it should be old hat, until the next story comes along. Thanks to all the favorites and follows; they are cherished.

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

"Adrien?" Ladybug could only stare stupidly at the person before her.

Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir?

She still remembered him even though she hasn't actually seen him in three years; who could forget her first real crush? She had sat behind him in classes for half a year before his father had pulled him out of the school citing concerns over Hawk Month's repeated attacks on the students. Adrien continued to hang out with Nino for months after that, but Mr. Agreste didn't approve of Nino as a friend for his son and the relationship slowly faded away, taking with it any chance Marinette had of seeing Adrien again.

Or so she thought.

Maybe Marinette hadn't seen Adrien again, but Ladybug had seen Chat Noir every week for years. The beautiful, aloof model to whom Marinette had been unable to speak a coherent sentence was the same person who had once flirted with her shamelessly, who now was so familiar to her that she could anticipate his moves without actually seeing him.

"Adrien?!" she repeated, still trying to wrap her head around it and all the implications.

"Yes, I'm -"

"I know who you are," she cut him off. "We've met before. We went to school together." In light of Chat's double reveal, continuing to guard her own identity seemed childish. With an unspoken command, she dropped her disguise. Her kwami floated above her briefly before reuniting with her old friend Plagg.

His first reaction was to flinch away, to protect her identity despite her intentions.

"Adrien," her voice gently called to him. "Look at me. We know each other."

He obeyed, staring at her for a long time until recognition dawned. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"

She grinned sheepishly.

Adrien laughed and leaned back on the roof. "Of course you are. How many blue-eyed, black-haired Parisiennes never gave me the time of day, in either form?"

"Adrien, that is neither true nor relevant," she said, and she would deal with it later. "Your father is Hawk Moth. What does he know?"

He shrugged at her business-like tone. "I'm not sure. He realizes I know he's Hawk Moth, but I doubt he suspects I'm Chat Noir. Ever since I got out of the hospital, he's kept a close eye on me. The only good news is that he didn't make time to send out more akumas. I would have been here last week or the week before if I could, but he was always watching me. I barely got away this time. I don't dare go back."

"Where are we going now?" asked Plagg.

"Honestly, I hadn't thought that far," he admitted. Planning was not his forte. "I thought you were going to make me turn in my ring, given who my father is, and find yourself a new partner. I don't know where to go. I don't trust going to anyone my father knows, and I don't know anyone else. Short of my time with you, my Lady, I don't get out much."

Marinette slumped her shoulders. She understood the loneliness. Maintaining a second identity kept her from so many things. After Adrien had left her school and she was able to take a clear-headed accounting of her grades, Marinette decided that boys were an entanglement that she didn't need. She continued her existing friendships as well as she was able, but that was all she had time and energy for. And not even that much on occasion.

"We need to stick together and come up with a plan. Could he come home with you?" suggested the ladybug kwami to Marinette who agreed immediately.

Adrien started to refuse the offer but his own kwami silenced him. "You're outvoted, kid."

"But if my father finds us, if he finds both of us -"

"One night, Chaton," said Marinette. "I'm not letting you sleep in an unsheltered alley when my parents have a perfectly serviceable sofa."

He tried to protest one more time but she touched a finger to his lips, silencing him. "Save your argument for the sunrise. We'll deal with it then."

She stood up and pulled him to his feet. "Do you remember where I live?" she asked.

He almost nodded. "Vaguely?"

"Then I'll go slow," she smiled. "You're a few weeks out of practice but try to keep up. When you see me reach my bedroom window, give it five minutes before you knock on our door. The bakery closed hours ago."

She gave her command to Tikki to transform, and Adrien did the same to Plagg. Seeing him suited up again gave her an ache in her chest. She hugged him again and whispered, "I'm glad you're back."

She felt his own arms wrap around her, then tiny pricks along her back as his claws dug in momentarily. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng," he breathed into her hair. "I should have known."

.o8o.

Their route through the streets of Paris was circuitous. Were anyone attempting to follow them, they would be hopelessly lost.

At last, Ladybug landed on her roof and dropped into her bedroom, transforming back into Marinette. She left Tikki behind and slipped downstairs to wait for Adrien Agreste.

She poured herself a glass of milk and grabbed a few cookies, some cheese, an apple, a plate of leftovers, and a heel of bread, exactly as if she was sneaking a midnight snack and just happened to be downstairs when someone came knocking.

She accidentally dropped a knife. It clattered on the floor and drew her parents' attention.

"Mari? Is that you?" called her father.

"Yes, Papa," she answered back reassuringly. "Just making a quick snack."

Tom Dupain came into the kitchen to join his daughter. "Mari?" he asked in disbelief. She had laid out more food than he was expecting. He knew she had been picking listlessly at her food for the last couple of weeks but it appeared her usual appetite had returned with a vengeance.

He sat down to join her in a nibble or two when they both heard a staccato rapping from the bakery. Marinette jumped up to answer it but her father stopped her.

"Ignore it," he said. "It's too late. Whoever it is can come back in the morning."

Marinette frowned but slipped back into her chair. She hoped Chat - Adrien - would be persistent.

He was.

"Maybe it's someone we know," prompted Marinette after the second round of knocking. "Maybe it's someone in trouble."

Tom Dupain sighed and got up to investigate. His daughter followed closely at his heels. "Stay back," he warned her, just in case.

M Dupain saw the young man at the door and tried to send him away; the bakery would be open in another 6 hours. Surely this could wait.

But Marinette did not stay back. She recognized her former classmate and welcomed him in, much to her father's chagrin.

The two partners engaged in an awkward, impromptu performance, each using nearly indistinguishable tells to guide each other through the conversation, as if Marinette hadn't seen Adrien in years, as if she didn't know why he would be out walking at this hour, as if she hadn't already invited him into her home.

By the time Marinette had guided both her friend and her father back to the kitchen, her mother was already awake and making a pot of tea. Ms. Cheng was far more sympathetic to the young man than her husband and listened to his story with interest. "Of course you can sleep here until morning," she determined.

Tom wanted to protest but Sabine Cheng had already decided. "Look at the hour, dear. We can't send him back out with nowhere to go. Our sofa has to be more comfortable than a park bench. Besides, he's a friend of Marinette."

Marinette tried not to look relieved as she felt the tension ebb from Adrien. "Merci Maman," she said, and her friend echoed her thanks.

"Let's you and me get the sofa ready," her mother suggested, pulling Marinette away while Adrien ate the rest of the midnight snack she had prepared under Tom's watchful eyes.

"Your friend is obviously in a rough spot," her mother quietly observed in front of the linen cupboard. "If he needs to talk about it to you, that's fine, but keep in mind your father and I need to sleep. And if you do invite him up into your room for privacy, keep the door open."

"That's not really private if we keep the door open," Marinette reasoned.

Sabine didn't disagree.

.o8o.

Marinette hardly had to coax Adrien up the steep stairs to her room with the stated promise of video games. The door shut silently behind them. So long as it was open before her parents woke, Marinette saw no problem with it.

It was a weird déjà vu to have Adrien Agreste again in her room for video games. She looked around the walls and felt less ridiculous now than she had four years ago. Back then, her walls head been covered in posters or magazine pages of young Adrien. After he left school and Marinette realized she couldn't be Ladybug and a student and an aspiring designer and a helping hand in her parents' bakery and boy-crazy at the same time, she began to take his pictures down, replacing them over time with other images and fashions that caught her eye. Now, there was only one picture of him left and she had to admit it was pretty foolish to keep it, considering how short and young the image of Adrien looked on her wall compared with the living, breathing original before her.

He didn't notice it though. Amid all the pictures and posters staring back at him, he was drawn to the poster of Ladybug and Chat Noir hanging over her computer. He just looked at her and quirked up an eyebrow. It was autographed.

"If you remember my best friend Alya from school, you'll remember she maintains the LadyBlog," she told him. "I admitted that I liked this poster so she gave me this copy as a birthday present."

He dropped onto her chaise longue without ceremony. "Oh no, that's not it," he said, some genuine mirth seeping into his voice. "I remember signing that. I have the same one hanging in my room, minus the signatures. I prefer the style of this drawing to an actual photograph of us. I feel less exposed when it doesn't look so obviously like me."

She rested a hand on his shoulder. She felt the same way.

"Speaking of exposing secret identities," came the voice of Plagg from within Adrien's jacket, "what are we going to do about your father?"

"Do we need to expose him?" Tikki asked. "If we can just take the moth miraculous, that should stop him in his tracks, no more akuma attacks."

Marinette likewise did not want to press for exposing Gabriel Agreste and turning him over to the authorities, if only to spare Adrien from publicly acknowledging that his father was a villain. "What does the moth miraculous look like?" she wondered. She had seen Mr. Agreste's image in numerous magazines but she couldn't recall seeing a miraculous.

"It's a broach," supplied Tikki.

"It's his tie pin," Adrien clarified. "I always thought it was an 'X' but now I suppose it was a moth."

Marinette chewed on that. "That must be a point in our favor," she said. "He can't wear it all the time. Unlike your ring or my earrings, he'll need to take it off when he goes to bed or takes a shower. He can't wear a tie pin every hour of every day."

Place laughed mirthlessly. "You haven't really met Adrien's father, have you? He seems like the sort of human to wear a tie pin to bed. If it is at all possible, you can bet he doesn't part with his miraculous for anything."

Adrien looked down at his ring. "I understand the feeling." Plagg gave him an uncharacteristic snuggle in response.

"Well, he can't do anything about it while he's unconscious," Marinette pointed out. "If we catch him while he's sleeping, it will be easy. Easier."

Adrien was already shaking his head. "Our house has security systems within security systems. No one gets to my father without his permission, not even his son."

"We might have to go back there," suggested Plagg quietly. "Just to get close to him."

"It's too dangerous," said Marinette. "He knows that you're onto him, even if he doesn't knows about Chat Noir. He may not hurt you, but what other powers does his miraculous have? He might never let you go again."

"He can't use the powers of his miraculous until he transforms," mused Tikki. "Do you think Mr. Agreste would reveal his secret identity in a public place?"

Everyone fell silent at that question. If they could lure Gabriel Agreste to a public place under the guise of reconciling with Adrien, could they somehow steal the pin before Hawk Moth could appear?

It was the start of a good plan but everyone was too tired to finish it. Adrien stretched out on the chaise to relax and Marinette curled up in her bed. They knew that they needed to open her bedroom trapdoor, that Adrien needed to go back to the sofa, but they just wanted to close their eyes for a minute.


	3. Chapter 3

**GOLDEN BALANCE**

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

Adrien fell asleep in her room, sprawled across her chaise. Marinette slept in her bed until her mother came tight-lipped to rouse her and bring her down to the bakery where she minded the cash register while her parents were at work in the kitchen.

During the school year her parents employed someone to help full-time, but during the summer holiday their daughter was expected to put in a few hours every morning. Being her parents, they had applied additional leverage, informing her that they expected her to work for them full-time after she graduated unless she was actively pursuing higher education. That was all the motivation she needed to apply to some local business programs. Her parents were pleased with her success, and with the scholarships and financial aid she had applied for without their prompting, but they still expected her to stand behind the counter for a few hours every morning during summer.

Adrien joined her eventually, looking still mussed from sleep but better rested than he had looked last night. With an unexpected jolt, she realized she still carried some of that schoolgirl crush. Or perhaps the closeness and trust she felt for her partner was blending with whatever residual attraction she felt for her former classmate. Should she be worried? The initial shock of learning Hawk Moth's identity was fading and in its place was the fact that Ladybug and Chat Noir had revealed themselves to each other. And after the moth miraculous was safe and Hawk Moth was unable to terrorize Paris again, Marinette and Adrien would have to figure out how to deal with their loss of anonymity. Which was what she wanted, she reminded herself, although the order of things left her feeling exposed.

She greeted him with a mug of milky coffee and a warm pastry which he practically wolfed down. He then wandered off to fold up the blankets he didn't use, steal a quick shower, and find out how he could be a good houseguest.

Closer to the end of the morning, Sabine came forward to talk with her daughter about Adrien in between customers. It started as an innocent inquiry into how he had spent the night, but after a few questions Marinette felt herself growing pink. Marinette tried to explain that her mother had misread the situation, but Sabine had been saving this conversation for too long to pack it away again. After years of her daughter not having a real boyfriend or showing much interest in dating, Sabine felt the need to explain a few facts and ground rules. The only thing that made the talk bearable was the thought that Adrien was not there to witness it, until Sabine mentioned that Tom was giving Adrien a similar talk in the kitchen.

When her partner in crime-fighting finally appeared, they didn't say much to each other but Marinette called out to her mom that she was going for a walk with Adrien.

"Remind me, Bugaboo," he said, looping his arm over her shoulders and when she closed her eyes she could hear no one but Chat, "never to get caught alone with your dad again. I can't imagine my father ever talking to me like that. He's the sort of person who would probably hire that out. Is that something normal parents do?"

"My mom gave me my first 'talk' when I was 12 and someone asked me to the school dance. Today was a lot more detailed than that. I'm so sorry," she apologized. "If I had any idea I was sending you into an ambush -"

"That's hardly the worst I've ever faced," he reminded her and they were able giggle over some of the memories.

Marinette guided him to a nearby park and they found a bench where they could sit and talk with their kwamis out of the earshot of anyone else.

"Let me start by apologizing," he said once the foursome had settled comfortably. "I know you wanted to keep our identities a secret. I shouldn't have -"

Marinette took a lazy swipe at his throat, where Chat's bell normally hung. "Stop it," she told him. "It was an idea that made sense at the time. We have more serious worries than knowing each other's regular forms." She fought the urge to snuggle against him. "Although I suppose it is lucky I didn't learn your identity until I could handle it."

She felt him shift slightly next to her. "You really didn't like me back then, did you?"

"What? How can you think that?" she wondered. "Fourteen-year-old Adrien Agreste was the hottest boy I had ever seen. It took all my willpower to look at you without swooning. Much less to talk in coherent sentences. Much less to be Ladybug around Chat Noir."

"Really?" He didn't quite believe her, but the more he stared, the redder she grew until doubt was impossible. "Well, I guess it comes as no surprise that I had the biggest crush on Ladybug back then," he admitted to make her feel better.

"You still do," came a voice from his hoodie.

"Shut up, Plagg."

Marinette studied the chipped paint on her nails. "Well, Adrien Agreste is still pretty hot," she said quietly.

"What about Chat Noir?" he asked with a slight nudge of his shoulder.

"What about Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" she countered with a nudge if her own.

"What about Hawk Moth?" piped up Tikki. "We still need to come up with a plan." The kwami of good luck and creation could be very nurturing to her young charge, but she also recognized the precariousness of the situation.

The recollection was all Marinette needed to stop herself. "Right," she nodded, slipping into a professional demeanor. "We need to draw him out to a public area where he won't be able to transform and then we need to physically remove the moth miraculous from his person. That's what I remember from last night."

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. He leaned back and placed a hand between her shoulder blades, his fingertips exerting a slight pressure. That small yet familiar connection allowed each other to read miniscule changes in the other that wouldn't be visible to observers.

"How long do we have before your father notices you're gone?"

She could feel the trouble through his fingertips. "I snuck out yesterday before dawn," he said. "Normally, I don't think he pays any attention to what I do in my free time so long as I meet my obligations, but we left normal a few weeks ago."

"We need to get in touch with him right away," she began to make a list. "We need to tell him to stop searching for you before he sends a new champion to find you. We need to let him know that you haven't gone to the authorities with his secret so he doesn't act desperately."

"But how? I left my phone and credit cards behind so he couldn't trace me. Now I have no way of calling him." When he felt her reprimand across the muscles of her back, he replied, "I wasn't about to lead our nemesis right to you."

She relaxed a bit with forgiveness. "We'll just have to find a landline and call him from there," she said. "It would be best if you could tell him where and when to meet you when you called."

The foursome brainstormed for a suitable location. Finally, they decided on a large green space near the Agreste home. It would be busy with people enjoying the warm summer weather even at dusk yet it was open enough that Gabriel Agreste could not find a place to transform privately.

"Neither your father nor we will be able to transform privately," Marinette mused.

"You're not going," he said flatly.

She sat up and glared at him in defiance. She wasn't about to let he partner face their greatest adversary alone.

He glared back. His father would be expecting him alone. Anyone else would telegraph that it was a trap or that Adrien knew more than he should.

She twisted fully around so he could see her disproving expression. It wasn't as if she had asked to be introduced to his father. She would be subtle. "I'll just bring a sketchbook to blend into the crowd and keep an eye on you."

His fingers dug nervously into her back. It was not quite the same sensation of concern as when he wore his claws, but his worry was intelligible.

She softened at his concern but did not give in. "I'll be safer than you, I promise."

He wouldn't sway her, this he knew. He settled for resting his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes and leaned in, mirroring the contact. Ladybug couldn't remember when she and Chat had started that gesture but it was now as much their signature move as the fist bump they would share after defeating one of Hawk Moth's early champions.

"We'll make it through this," she whispered.

"One more thing," said Tikki. "If you're going face to face with Hawk Moth as just Adrien, I don't want Plagg to have a front row seat. There's no reason to bring your miraculous when you can't use it and that man has already bent one kwami to his will. I don't want him getting his hands on the forces of chaos and destruction."

Adrien's hand curled into a protective fist. How could he give up his miraculous so soon after getting it back?

"If your father sees the ring, if he recognizes it, it's a game changer," added the cat kwami. "He doesn't need to kill you per se to take the ring, and it will make Ladybug's job much harder."

Marinette could feel the turmoil within Adrien before he grew uncomfortably resigned. "My Lady, I have another favor to beg of you," he said at last.

"Let her wear the ring for you, for my sake," Plagg said.

Marinette felt her eyes grow wide. "I can do that?" she asked. "How is that safe?" Hawk Moth had been trying to capture the miraculouses but surely it was stupid to attempt to wield such power.

"Whatever you do, don't use it," Tikki said. "But wearing it will allow Plagg to help more than if he were trapped passively in the ring."

The idea still left Marinette nervous but, having made his resolution, Adrien didn't want to weaken with delay. He breathed deeply then pulled off the ring and Plagg disappeared. Adrien grasped Marinette's hand and slipped the ring on her finger and Plagg reappeared.

Again he pressed his forehead to hers. They would get through this. He would only be without the ring for half a day at most, just until he was done seeing his father. She would keep an eye on him, wouldn't let him get hurt or be held back like last time. They were a team, and they were going to handle this together.

Their peaceful moment was shattered by a squealed, "Marinette!"

"Alya!" she said as her eyes shot open. It was not just the warm sun that made her face feel hot.

Marinette's best friend stood before their park bench, gaping at the couple in audible shock.

"Alya," she said again, trying to think faster. "This is Adrien Agreste -"

"Oh, I remember Adrien!" Alya said, extending her hand. "I don't remember you mentioning him recently though."

"Hey, Alya," he said, sheepishly shaking her hand before moving his hand back to the spot between his partner's shoulder blades. "You still have your blog?" he asked as if he didn't know.

"Did you just give my best friend a ring? Did he just give you a ring?" Not waiting for an answer, Alya grabbed Marinette's hand and examined the ring herself.

Whatever sort of bauble she was hoping for, the plain silver band did not meet her expectations, but it did provide enough of a distraction for the two on the bench to share another private communication.

"It's not what it looks like," said Marinette.

"Well, it looks like nothing, so it must be something," Alya declared, eyeing the others suspiciously. Marinette fought the urge to squirm away from Adrien.

"It's nothing official until I can talk with my father," he adlibbed. "And I'd appreciate it if no one posts about it online until I can break the news to him." There were a growing number of things that Ladybug and Chat Noir didn't want to deal with right now.

"So when did this become unofficial?" asked Alya, undeterred.

"A few months ago," he replied automatically. "We went to the movies."

Marinette's eyes bulged in disbelief at hearing that.

Ladybug had been going to the same movies as Chat for a year now, but never together. He had first brought it up, pointing to a poster of some American action movie and asked if she wanted to see it. She didn't, but he goaded her into it, said it would give them something to talk about besides all the things they couldn't discuss. So she found time the next week to go as Marinette. It was not very good but Chat was right, it gave them something to talk about. A month later, she dared him to see a Spanish comedy. After that, they both felt free to invite the other to catch a movie before their next patrol, but she had never suspected it was meant to be a date. Then again, that only needed to be the story they told Alya.

"Don't worry," he leaned forward and whispered in her ear loud enough for Alya to hear, "next time I'll spring for popcorn."

"Agreste!" Outraged on her friend's behalf, Alya punched his shoulder. "Making my girl buy her own popcorn! Giving her a cheap piece of kid's jewelry! You need to step up your game, man, if you're going to make this official." Without waiting for him to offer a defense, she turned to Marinette. "A pretty face can only get you so far. At least tell me he's a good kisser. You've got to give me proof of at least that much."

Both their faces exploded in color. "Alya, please," Marinette grit out through her teeth.

"Just this morning, M Dupain gave me a very clear and concise list of all the circumstances under which I am allowed to kiss his daughter," said Adrien. "And I'm pretty sure he didn't mention anything about being pressured into it in a public place by someone else."

That did nothing to damper Alya's curiosity. Marinette could feel another barrage of questions imminent.

"Adrien, why don't you run over there and pick up something for lunch," she suggested, using the tensing of a shoulder muscle to direct his gaze to a food cart parked by a footpath.

It was typically his job to protect and shield her, but not in situations like this. "Yeah," he mumbled, "I need to call my father too." He stood up and shook Alya's hand again. "If you and Nino are both up for it, maybe we can all get together in a week or two." With that he wandered off.

Alya wasted no time. "What just happened?" she asked in disbelief, dropping down onto the newly opened space on the bench. "When did it start happening? When did you get over your debilitating crush on Adrien Agreste? The old you couldn't keep your cool around him if your life depended on it, and now you just sent him to fetch you a sandwich like it's nothing."

"Alya!" she said, clapping her hands over her ears at that unflattering characterization. "Yes, I had the worst crush on him, like, four years ago. But then his dad pulled him out of school and I guess I just got over it. And then we ran into each other again and… and here we are." Marinette was as vague as she thought she could get away with. "But he's serious about his father, Alya. You can't tell anyone. Anyone. Promise me that."

"What's his dad going to do? Order him to break up with you?" Alya wondered irritably. Seeing her friend's serious look, she relented. "Fine, my lips are sealed and my blog is silent. Just don't spare me the details from here on out or else I'm going to have to go digging for them."


	4. Chapter 4

**GOLDEN BALANCE**

I tried going with a creepy-evil Gabriel and a menacing vibe in this chapter. Not sure if it comes across quite right.

And for your one and only warning, there will be some violence/death in a later chapter... if that is not what you want in a T-rated story, probably pull the ripcord now. (I really hope you keep reading.)

-snafsnaf

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

Adrien left a message with his father's assistant that the two men would meet at the designated park in two hours. He wanted to give Marinette enough time to arrive nonchalantly but not give his father enough time to arrange an ambush. He didn't stay on the line long enough for Nathalie to confirm the appointment.

Marinette packed away her lunch and then left to pick up her sketchbook from home and get set up. She gave him a peck on the cheek "for luck".

He smiled through his blush at that. "You realize that, without Plagg to drag me down, I'm probably pretty good in the luck department."

Probably. But a little extra never hurt. "About all those movies we saw," she added, because it seemed the fastest way to put it behind her, "those weren't really dates, were they?"

"My Lady, between the two of us we're four different people simultaneously. Who can keep track of this sort of thing?" His smile was far more confident. He would admit those excursions were whatever she wanted as soon as she admitted what she wanted them to be.

"Well, after this latest excitement dies down, we'll have to try it again and see if you can pay attention this time around." Two could play at that game. "But in the meantime, I have a park to stake out. I'll meet you back at our bench at 6 o'clock."

There were no more kisses for luck in their parting. They each had a job to do, one that they had done frequently enough to be professional about it. Ladybug disappeared into the métro station looking to all the world like eighteen-year-old Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Her Chaton had farther to walk before taking a different metro and a more circuitous route.

It steadied his nerves to know that she was already there when he arrived, but he didn't look for her. Instead, he scanned the crowd for other faces to recognize, people who worked for his father, or the old man himself.

He found an unoccupied picnic bench and made himself comfortable, and waited.

Gabriel Agreste was early and not alone. He was escorted by a menacing-looking bodyguard who sat away from them and plugged his ears with headphones blaring music so loudly that Adrien could hear.

"Adrien," said his father dispassionately, "I was worried about you, vanishing as you did. Nathalie has been in damage control mode since yesterday morning."

The urge to be manipulated by his father's words, to slip into old patterns of behavior, was strong. For how long did he warp and twist himself into his father's stated ideals of the perfect son in the hopes of earning some scrap of affection? It seemed a cosmic waste of effort now.

"I want to give you a chance to turn yourself in," Adrien said levelly. Ladybug was the better at public speaking, at issuing serious challenges while he punned in comic relief, but she wasn't here. "I know who you are, how you've terrorized Paris for the last few years. You need to stop."

Gabriel looked about. "And who will stop me? You've already admitted that you haven't gone to the gendarmes; who else does that leave?"

"I will stop you if I have to."

Gabriel cast his eyes to one side, subtly calling attention to the bodyguard. "When did you become such a foolish and impetuous hothead?" he wondered. "If I truly am the villain you claim, is it wise of you to challenge me directly?"

"I may not have reported you to the authorities," said Adrien, "but that doesn't mean I've told no one at all."

His father looked briefly perturbed. "And who would you tell? Who do you even know that isn't in some way in my power? Who would believe such a paranoid conspiracy?"

Adrien tamped down his reaction to the taunt. "Just hand over your miraculous and we'll both walk away."

"How do you know of that?" Gabriel's voice was no longer calm and bored.

"It's called the internet," he shot back. "Blogs, chatrooms, online communities, that sort of thing. You'd be surprised how much information is out there." Adrien knew all about it; he had been responsible for posting much of it using a collection of anonymous accounts. When he had first shared the idea with Plagg two years ago, he had expected the kwami to dismiss him, but Plagg was a god of chaos and saw an opportunity for mischief. As a result, even Ladybug had started talking about the theories circulating about Hawk Moth, his strengths and weaknesses. "Besides, it only makes sense. You're after Ladybug's and Chat Noir's miraculouses, but you'd need one of your own to control the akuma."

"And what do you think the endgame is?"

Adrien shrugged. "Had you been some random person, I don't know. Power? More power? But you're my father," he said slowly. He'd had weeks to think on this and he was still trying to connect the dots. "Control? A chance to remake the world in your image, according to your designs? With the cat miraculous, you could wipe away anything that displeases you. And with the ladybug…" He stopped himself. "But that's not how it works. You can't direct the power of creation. Everything would return to how it was before."

He looked up at his father and winced slightly, wondering if he had given something away.

"Ladybug is an untutored child," said his father, "ignorant and blind. She has not tapped the full potential of her miraculous, and, at the rate she is going, she never will. Chat Noir is no better. You have no idea what feats a properly disciplined man could perform with those miraculouses individually; combined, an ambitious man could achieve absolute perfection."

Adrien felt cold listening to his father speak, cold and vulnerable. It was a mistake to come here, to face his father. It was foolish to think he could reason with the stranger that had spent years terrorizing Paris in some impossible quest for power. He needed to get away.

"And now, Adrien, your little experiment is ended," Gabriel announced. "You've had your taste of adventure and it is time for you to come home."

"No." The word was quiet but carried a conviction.

Gabriel glared in annoyance at the young man in front of him. "The game is over, son. You are coming with me. It would be better for your sake to do so willingly."

"Never," Adrien said more forcefully. "I am never going back with you."

"Do not make your mother's mistake in thinking this is a choice."

Despite the summer sun, Adrien shivered. His mother's disappearance haunted him still. He had never before imagined his father was in any way responsible. "What did you do to her?"

"Pray that you never find out," came the grim threat.

Adrien met his father's eyes. There was nothing behind them that he recognized, no spark of familial bond. This man was a dangerous stranger, and he had spent far too long in his company.

Before Adrien could decide his next move, Gabriel raised a hand. The bodyguard saw the signal and his hand darted across the picnic table for Adrien.

Adrien fell back, rolling off the bench and inelegantly onto his feet. He sped off, the bodyguard in pursuit. His mind tried to plan his next move, how he would shake his father's man; attracting attention and dodging attacks were his forte, but it was with the expectation that his partner was working to take down their opponent. He ran as fast as he could, hoping to put enough distance between them that he could lose the tail. More complex planning would have to wait.

He could hear the other man hot on his heels, panting and stomping, keeping pace despite his extra mass. Adrien wondered if it would take until they left the relatively flat and open park that the guard would slow down in a series of alleys.

As the sound behind him grew louder, Adrien briefly wondered if he'd get away.

Then, like someone had employed a deus ex machina, his pursuer cried out in pain. Adrien could hear the man howling behind him, but his location was fixed, he was no longer giving chase.

Curiosity would have killed the cat. Adrien thought that Ladybug had done something, but he didn't have the luxury to check. He kept running, never looking back.

.o8o.

The park near the Dupain-Cheng bakery was full of people enjoying the start of the evening. There were families playing games and pairs of tourists walking arm in arm. There were old men taking a leisurely evening stroll, and young women jogging for their health. And there was a teenager trying hard not to look wild as he paced, waiting for a friend.

When at last he saw her, his face nearly caved with relief. He wanted to pull her close into a suffocating hug, but he settled publicly for a peck on her cheek.

"You look like you could use some tea," she observed, trying to soothe him through the tone of her voice. She braided her fingers with his and pulled him along.

"My Lady -"

She shushed him. "Tea," she said. "Then talk."

He lapsed into silence and let her lead him. They traveled up and down streets until she ducked into a nondescript shop, pulling him in behind her and locking the door.

Had Adrien been able to, he would have kicked himself for not coming here last night instead of following Ladybug home. But, then again, the Guardian had made it clear many times that he wasn't there to actively help the young heroes. And besides, it was Tikki who had suggested that they all go back to the flat above the bakery; who was Adrien to argue with that?

An old man of Asian descent came shuffling out in responses to the bell that tinkled with the door, a greeting on his lips. The cheery welcome died as soon as he recognized his customers. Instead, he stepped to the side and held out his hand beckoning them into the back room.

Again Ladybug led the way to a small, cozy room, with a table set for the people and a pot of tea steeping and ready for guests.

They all took their seats with little conversation. It was only once they were sitting down that Marinette removed the ring and passed it to her partner. Adrien lost no time in slipping it back into his own finger.

"And now I may greet you as Ladybug and Chat Noir," said their host as he poured the tea.

Adrien stood up abruptly. "Where's your restroom? I'm going to be sick."

The old man pointed a direction and Adrien fled. He made it to the toilet in time and even though he hadn't had anything to eat or drink since lunch, he remained hunched over, emptying every last ounce of bile from his stomach.


	5. Chapter 5

**GOLDEN BALANCE**

Thanks to everyone who's stuck with this story this far. Your comments, follows, and favorites mean a lot to me. Even just the views are pretty incredible.

* * *

Chapter 5

* * *

When Adrien was done throwing up, he noticed Plagg perched on the sink, watching him with sad green eyes.

"Let me save you some story," the kwami said. "I can read lips, and Marinette got us in position where I could watch your father. I'm sorry about your luck, kid."

Adrien rinsed his mouth with water from the sink then asked, "Was it you that took down the guy chasing after me?"

"You gave me to Marinette willingly, but as long as you're alive I'll never be truly powerful with someone else. No, that was Tikki," Plagg admitted. "You'd be surprised how good luck for you turns into bad luck for somebody else."

"Right," he said, thinking back on Ladybug and their host sitting in the other room. He knew the old man was Master Fu who had given him the cat miraculous. He also knew the Guardian did not like to involve himself directly with Hawk Moth; "I shall leave the heroics to the heroes," Fu had once said. That passivity also meant an unwillingness to coach Ladybug and Chat Noir. Adrien found that pacifism very frustrating, especially at times like this. "So now what?"

"Go have some tea," said Plagg.

Adrien splashed more water on his face before setting off and taking his kwami's advice.

The other two hadn't moved from the table during his absence, but as soon as she saw him, Ladybug - Marinette - came forward and gave him a hug. It was precisely the contact he had been craving and he returned the gesture with bruising force until he heard her emit a noise that sounded like she was in pain.

"I'm sorry," he said immediately, letting her go. "I didn't mean to -"

"It's okay," she assured him, not fully releasing him. "Anything that hurts my partner, hurts me too. That's how this works."

Fu gently reminded them that the tea was growing cold so they rejoined him. Adrien took a sip from his cup. The tea was indeed no longer hot but it was still warm enough to drink. Fu waited until his cup was empty to refill it and ask Chat to relate his version of events, starting from the worry that prompted him to first leave his miraculous with Ladybug.

Chat talked for a long time. He would have become hoarse if not for the tea. He would have been hungry if not for the cookies on a plate in front of him. Ladybug didn't say anything but she occasionally reached out a hand to him which he held until his throat needed another sip of tea.

The retelling left him drained and exhausted. Were he in Marinette's bedroom, he'd probably sprawl out on her chaise and sleep until next week. But he was stuck in a private tearoom where the only convenient horizontal surface was the floor.

"What do we do now?" asked Marinette. "I can't imagine Hawk Moth will surrender willingly if we reveal his identity to the police, but I don't want to fight Adrien's father. And with Adrien missing, I'm sure his father will find increasingly creative and dangerous ways to draw him out, either as Adrien or as Chat Noir."

Adrien chuckled mirthlessly. "I don't think my father's going to pull his punches for my sake."

"Let me meditate on this," said Master Fu. "It is not so hopeless that a solution cannot be found."

"But wait," said Marinette, her brow furrowing. "You're the Guardian. Didn't you know that Adrien's father had the moth miraculous?" This felt like a detail he should have shared a long time ago.

"The magic does not work that way," he said. "Try for yourselves to tell someone else who your partner is, and you will see. Try to tell the police who Hawk Moth is."

"But I was able to tell both of you who my father really is," Adrien pointed out.

"I already knew, so there was no impediment there. As for Ladybug," said Fu, eyeing the young woman thoughtfully, "perhaps you see her as an extension of yourself. After all, you were formed to complement each other. Well, your miraculouses were."

"And what about the other thing my father mentioned, the untapped potential of our miraculouses?" Adrien asked, trying not to sound short-tempered.

"That power comes from your kwamis, and is for them to reveal to you if and when they believe you are ready." A quick glance around the room showed that the little gods were conspicuously absent.

Now Adrien was annoyed. This was not the time for riddles, half-truths, and misdirections. If Ladybug and Chat Noir were not qualified to know these things, how did Hawk Moth come by this information? And would this ignorance protect anyone if Hawk Moth succeeded in capturing the miraculouses?

Before he could voice his frustrations, Marinette brushed his arm. He blinked at the distraction, his harsh words momentarily forgotten.

Fu smiled at them. "You two work very well together. It is a shame I have not had more opportunity to observe you. And now that you have revealed yourselves to each other, I believe it can help you protect your identities."

"How does this help?" Marinette asked. All she could think about was the conflict with Adrian's father.

"Well, you can each be the other's alibi," said the old man. "Just tell your friends and family that you were off playing kissy-face with your boyfriend the next time they wonder where you've been."

Adrien did not look at Marinette, and she definitely did not look at him. A muscle in his cheek twitched, no doubt caused by a heat cramp from a sudden and intense blush.

"I'm not saying you should actually kiss each other," said Fu after taking in their shocked faces. "In fact, given recent history, that can lead to a dark path."

"History? What history?" Adrien prompted when no additional explanation was forthcoming.

Fu sighed then glanced about, trying to find another topic in the corners of the tearoom.

"What dark path?" asked Marinette. "You can't just leave it at that, Master."

Fu met their eyes and looked away again. "Of all the miraculouses, the ladybug and the cat are most often paired together. Others may join them, but it is best if they work together. History gets very messy, very violent when they are at odds. The other five have more fluid pairings and rivalries," said the old master. "Fox and Peacock, Peacock and Moth, that sort of thing. The miraculous holders, once they learn each other's secret identities, often develop ways to protect not just their own secrets, but those of their partner as well. They agree to a mutually beneficial, symbiotic lie. Some of them go into business together or even go so far as to marry each other to project the illusion. So long as they don't forget their relationship is rooted in that lie, they may live to a peaceful, old age."

"What does that mean?" Adrien asked before he could think it through.

Fu shrugged. "Breakups can take a nasty turn when both of you have a miraculous, when one of you wants to make a change that the other doesn't want, or when one of you wants to move on and the other won't let go."

Chat and Ladybug shared a horrified look, promising never to do such a thing.

"You may swear to be gentle and understanding always," said Fu, "but you are still too young to realize the cost of such a vow. If you loved her and found out she loved someone else, would you not resent losing her?" he asked Adrien. Then he turned to Marinette. "Could you bear to see him happy with someone else, knowing it comes at the expense of your own happiness? Could you still be partners, trusting each other completely, with a broken heart?"

He let his words sink in then held up a hand. "Do not answer. Neither one of you would intentionally harm the other, I know that. But life doesn't always follow the path you set for it. Sometimes it backtracks or takes sudden turns, and you find yourself in darkness. I have seen it myself. It has brought us to our current dilemma."

Adrien's gaze snapped to Fu at that last statement. Their current dilemma was that Adrien's father was their nemesis, the corrupt holder of the moth miraculous who was increasingly willing to do anything to achieve his power-mad dreams. To apply was Master Fu said to his father would mean… that his father had once had a partner. But who could that have been? A former business partner or Adrien's mother?

He wanted to voice this hypothesis but suddenly his throat locked up. The more he wanted to say it aloud, the more firmly his lips pressed into a line. He glared wildly at his partner who appeared to be struggling with the same realization.

"Mrs. Agreste -" the words came slowly from Marinette's mouth as she realized they all knew - "had a miraculous?"

Fu sagged, looking suddenly much older. He nodded. "Gabriel Agreste was not always a villain. There was a time before you were born when he was a hero. They both were. And quiet too, to match their opponents. There was no pole vaulting to the top of the Eiffel Tower in their day."

"So Hawk Moth wasn't always a villain," Marinette mused.

" _Hawk Moth_ always was and ever shall be a villain," the Guardian corrected her. "But before he became Hawk Moth, he was Papillon."

The name made Adrien gasp in surprise. At his partner's questioning glance, he spoke. "Papillon… Papillon and Paonne! My mother used to tell me stories about them when I was little. I thought they were fairy tales."

"I do not know what tales your mother told you, whether they were embellished or otherwise modified to make them appropriate for you, but yes. Your parents were Papillon and Paonne. And eventually they found out who each other was. And they began to live the lie. And at some point they forgot it wasn't real, and you were born. But it was never real, not for your father. Your mother didn't recognize the danger -"

"Stop." There was more to the story, but Marinette didn't want to hear it. She knew her partner definitely didn't need to hear it.

"I had already asked them to return their miraculouses to me," continued Fu, skipping around the subject, "but they refused. While their primary foe was defeated, they feared that he would return, or a minion would rise up to fill the criminal void. I tried to reason with them, but your father wouldn't listen, and your mother decided to keep hers as a show of solidarity. I tell myself that it didn't change her fate, that she was already too close to him to be spared, but I will never know for certain."

A pall fell across the room and Adrien shrunk under its weight. Marinette glared unkindly at the master for this latest reveal, but the words could not be taken back.

"Let me get started on dinner," Fu said instead. "Ladybug, you are welcome to join us." Chat, having nowhere else to go, had an implied invitation. With that, he stood and shuffled off to the kitchen.

Marinette didn't need to look at her partner to feel the hurt radiating from him, but she did anyway. "Adrien?"

He didn't move.

"Chat?"

No response.

"Chaton?"

He flinched. "Not now, my Lady."

She rested her hand briefly on his shoulder then got up and moved to another part of the room.

She pulled out her phone and called her parents. She wanted to accept Master Fu's invitation to dinner if only to be around to help Chat climb out of his funk, but she figured her parents deserved to hear from her first.

Her mother answered the phone on the first ring. "Marinette!" squawked her worried parent. "Where have you been?"

"Maman, is anything wrong?" she asked, on alert. She had disappeared during every akuma attack and her family had never seemed as worried as her mother did now.

"No, of course not! We just haven't heard from you all day. Your father is making your favorite for dinner tonight, tuna. When will you be home?"

"Um, actually, I've been invited to eat with some friends," she said. Unease gnawed at her.

"With your boyfriend?" asked her mother. "Bring him with you. I want your father to apologize for acting overprotective this morning; you just threw us for a loop."

Something was definitely wrong. "Maman, did someone come looking for Adrien?"

"Yes, that's his name! Bring Adrien!" came the excited reply. "Be here in 45 minutes, alright?"

"Yeah," Marinette lied. "Of course."

She could feel Chat tracking her the moment she spoke his name but she didn't turn to him. Instead she typed out a quick text to Alya: _Did you mention my boyfriend to anyone?_ Alya could usually be trusted to keep a secret, but how else did word get out?

Her friend replied back almost immediately. _No one._

Then came another message: _Except Nino._

Marinette frowned then opened her social media feed. A few scrolls down and she saw the post from Nino's public account: _A &I have double date next week with old friends Marinette D-C and Adrien Agreste! #whatwhenhow #truebromance_

She hissed in frustration as Chat came out to investigate. Averting her eyes she showed him the post.

"That's on his public feed," she explained. "I'm the only Marinette in his contact list, and my profile points straight back to the bakery. Oh, and my parents want you to come over for dinner. We're having tuna, my favorite."

He wrinkled his nose. "You hate tuna." It wasn't exactly an identifying detail like a birthdate or a home arrondissement, but he knew she couldn't stand the smell of it. Just like he knew there was a week every spring when the trees bloomed that she couldn't stop sneezing; that she loved gentle, misting rains; that gooey marshmallows made her eyes roll back; that the scent of wood burning in a chimney made her smile.

"Yeah." She met his eyes.

If Hawk Moth - scratch that. If Gabriel Agreste had tasked someone with the chore of finding his son, there was now a very clear path leading to Marinette Dupain-Cheng and her family. There might be a perfectly harmless explanation behind her parents odd behavior, but then again, maybe not.

"Master Fu," he raised his voice, "we're stepping out."

"Now?" came the harried voice from the kitchen.

Fu had more to say but they didn't hear him. Claws out and spots on, they were already gone.


	6. Chapter 6

**GOLDEN BALANCE**

Well, you've read half of it. What do you think so far?

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

The plan was simple: enter the building through Marinette's rooftop patio, secure her parents' safety, and send them away. The messy, fluid part was step 2, when they didn't know if they were dealing with regular people hired by Gabriel Agreste or an akumatised champion promoted by Hawk Moth, or just normal parents who wanted to get to know their daughter's boyfriend.

They landed on the neighboring roof, checking for signs of life in her windows before silently leaping to Marinette's patio. After a count of three, Chat yanked open the trapdoor and Ladybug swung down. No one was waiting for her so she threw Chat a speaking glance and he slinked down to join her.

They gathered around the trapdoor in Marinette's bedroom floor. When they pressed their ears to the cracks, they could hear the sounds of Sabine Cheng and another voice that Ladybug did not recognize as her father. The voices shifted and grew muffled as if they had moved to another room.

Ladybug carefully opened the trapdoor, then peeked into the room. It was empty. She silently eased herself into the room and then readied her yo-yo for action as Chat dropped into position beside her. They snuck through the doorway and peered into the kitchen where Madame Cheng was refilling the stranger's tea cup.

Marinette's mother saw them and gasped. Before the stranger could turn around to see what had startled his hostage, the yo-yo leaned out and struck him on the head. He cried out loudly in pain but crumpled onto the kitchen counter and then dropped to the floor unconscious.

The noise, however, had been heard. A commotion from below migrated to the sound of footsteps on the stairs as people came to investigate, but Chat Noir and his baton were ready for them. It was, in all honesty, not hard to defeat regular people.

They waited a moment for others to arrive, but Monsieur Dupain called up the stairs in curiosity to see if his wife was okay.

"Are there any more of them?" Ladybug asked her mother.

Sabine Cheng shook her head nervously. "Just the three," she answered first before calling out to her husband that she was fine and telling him to join her.

"What do you know about these men?" Chat asked.

"They are here to meet our daughter's boyfriend," Sabine shrugged. "They said they wouldn't hurt us or our daughter Marinette, but they needed the boy. They said they wouldn't leave without him. Our daughter is supposed to be bringing him to dinner in a half-hour." Madame Cheng was on the verge of tears when she stopped speaking.

Her husband scooped her into his arms and held her. It was apparent that they were not physically hurt although they were frightened.

"You need to disappear," said Chat, "get out of Paris. These men are part of something dangerous, whatever they claim. There will be more of them."

The Dupain-Chengs stood wrapped in each other's arms, gaping stupidly, unable to move.

"You need to pack," Ladybug said spurring them into action. "Take all the money from the cash register, and drive. Don't use your credit cards. Don't use your cellphones. Don't tell your friends where to find you. Go!"

The older couple leapt into action, dashing haphazardly into different rooms. Ladybug and Chat Noir tied up the men and hauled their still unconscious forms to the alley behind the bakery. When they returned, Marinette's parents were ready almost to depart.

"We can't leave without our daughter," said Tom Dupain. "She said she was coming. She's always running late but we have to wait for her."

Ladybug and Chat exchanged a look.

"Your daughter isn't coming," said Chat levelly. "We sent her somewhere else when we realized what was happening. She cannot join you now, but I give you my word that I will bring her to you when this is over. But it would make it a lot easier for me to keep Marinette safe if she doesn't have to worry about you."

Ladybug felt a warm glow of affection for her partner, defender of Paris. Her parents, although reluctant, were soon acquiescing to the idea.

Tom nodded. "Tell Marinette that we'll be with my brother -"

"No," said Ladybug firmly. "No family. It's too obvious. Is… is there someplace you used to go as a family, maybe for vacation?"

"There's a town on the Mediterranean where we used to go every summer, just the three of us," suggested Sabine.

"Perfect! Now go. We'll let ourselves out the way we came in."

She herded her parents to the back door while Chat dialled 112. By the time her parents' car was pulling away from the curb, he was hanging up the phone.

"Alright," she said. "My bug-out bag is in my closet." As she mounted the stairs to her room again, she wordlessly dropped her transformation. The timing had made it feel like a graduation gift, but after fighting a champion that could mute all sound, both Plagg and Tikki gave their humans the ability to call upon their powers without having to literally say the magic words.

"Your _bug-out_ \- Wait," he said as he followed her. He couldn't let her rare pun distract him. "You're already packed? You were expecting this?"

"Not this exactly," she shrugged, pulling her phone out of her back pocket, "but yes." She texted a terse warning to Alya - _Agreste is dangerous. Going dark._ \- before tossing the phone away and pulling out the backpack. Without warning him, she bathed the room in pink light and transformed again before climbing out the hatch to her rooftop patio.

"I mean, what was your plan if someone discovered your real identity?" she continued, not able to leave well-enough alone. "Just sit at home and wait for Hawk Moth to target your family?" She cringed as the words left her mouth. What a very Marinette thing to say!

Chat however didn't sound too phased by it. "I should be so lucky," he said, following close behind her.

.o8o.

Master Fu fussed over them, fed them, and helped rearrange the furniture in his living room so they could camp out on his floor. They rolled out a pair of sleeping bags and prepared for bed.

"Good night, Ladybug. Good night, Chat Noir. Good night, Tikki. Good night, Plagg," he said to each of them before turning out the lights and retiring to his room.

Marinette snuggled into her sleeping bag in the dark, mindful of the kwami resting beside her on the pillow. She thought about her parents and where they might be now. She worried about Alya and Nino and when Gabriel Agreste would track them down. She realized how isolated her partner must feel.

Adrien had lost his mother years ago, and his father had always been distant. At least that's what she remembered from the time they had spent together in school. But he didn't have the opportunity, with or without the mask, to develop deep friendships. And now to find out why his mother was gone, why his father was so cold… she shivered in sympathy.

"Cold, Bug?" he asked.

"No," she answered honestly but still scooted her sleeping bag closer to him. Fu had positioned them ridiculously a meter apart, which would make sense if Adrien tended to thrash around in his sleep but she doubted that was the case.

When she was close enough, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer still, until her head was resting on his shoulder and she could feel his warmth seeping through two layers of camping gear.

"I'm thinking about my parents," she admitted. "I was so quick to get away this morning that I didn't really say goodbye, and then I couldn't say it as Ladybug. And now they're gone."

He hugged her tightly. "Do my promises count for nothing?" he teased her gently. "I said I'd bring you to them and I will. Why don't you tell me about this place they're going to?"

She sighed and began to recount the best family vacation she had ever had. Happy memories washed over her and she relaxed. The steady tattoo of his heartbeat was soporific and she snuggled deeper against him. Her eyelids grew heavy. She closed them once, twice.

Suddenly Adrien flinched.

"Plagg! What are you doing?" he hissed.

"Just getting comfortable," answered the kwami. "Blame Marinette for giving me the idea. Tikki, care to join me? His stomach is surprisingly comfortable."

Marinette giggled. It was too dark to see, but she could easily imagine the two kwami settling in for the night on top of Adrien. She waited for Adrien to stop squirming then reached a hand down to rub Tikki on the head. The little god hummed contentedly in response. She then gave Plagg a scratch behind his ears and the room was filled with a thunderous purring.

Marinette burst into laughter. "You never told me he purrs so loudly!"

"You never would've believed me if I did," Adrien said in reply. She could hear the smirk in his voice.

Plagg protested that his purr had no flaw and the sound eventually died down to a low roar.

Marinette slipped her hand away and rested it on Adrien's chest. She curled her fingers as if she were still petting the cat kwami and she heard his heart stutter and speed up slightly. That gave her pause. Chat had begun as a flirt, but the playboy routine grew old quickly when she didn't respond to it, and he had given up on it. She had just assumed that his schoolboy fascination with Ladybug had died off, replaced by the professional respect they gave each other now. Adrien, on the other hand, had never seemed to Marinette to be anything but well-mannered and disinterested. Knowing a little more of his home life, she could understand why her former classmate had revealed so little emotion or interest in girls. It was a strange contrast: Adrien and his flirtatious alter ego; but the flirtatiousness hadn't been a lasting trait.

Still, Marinette slid her hand up and could feel his heart thumping in his chest. He shifted slightly and tightened his hold around her. She wondered briefly whether he would try to kiss her, whether she was trying to encourage him to make the first move, whether she had already made that move by getting this far. But he needed to realize that she was not the idealized Ladybug.

"You know I'm just Marinette?" she asked.

"You know I'm only human?" He was definitely going to kiss her.

"We're right here," grunted Plagg. "Kid, we talked about this."

"You talked, Plagg. I just listened." Adrien was already loosening his hold on Marinette, bringing the other hand over his eyes.

"Talked about what?" she asked. Warm , fuzzy feelings vanished and she was left feeling frustrated and annoyed, with a little rejection thrown in.

There was a pause long enough for someone to say something then Tikki announced, "It's late, Marinette. Let's get some sleep."

It had been annoying when she thought that Chat and his kwami were making decisions without her, but understandable as they were a team within the team. However, Tikki's involvement was a little too far. "So the three of you all found time to talk about _what_ behind my back?"

"I didn't talk and Tikki wasn't there." As if that was that.

Marinette glared at him in the darkness. She was smart enough to figure out this conspiracy based on what she already knew. "This is about what Fu said earlier, isn't it?" she realized. "The dark path, repeating your parents' mistakes."

Adrien jerked into a seated position, scattering Marinette, Plagg, and Tikki around him.

"I didn't talk to Plagg, and I'm not talking to you, my Lady." Then he stood up and padded off to the bathroom. After a moment, the cat kwami sighed in an aggrieved fashion and trailed after him.

"Anything I should know?" she asked Tikki, aiming for a calm tone.

The prim reply was immediate. "The ladybug is never the impulsive one."

Marinette sighed and got up to drag her sleeping bag back to the pillow she wouldn't need if she were still snuggled against Chat.


	7. Chapter 7

**GOLDEN BALANCE**

One thing that I really like with MLB fan fiction is the vast and creative range of interpretations of kwami powers. There is a little cannon and a lot of possibility.

* * *

Chapter 7

* * *

The aroma of coffee woke her, slowly penetrating the defenses of sleep and coaxing her consciousness away from oblivion. But rest was too delicious to abandon completely; she kept her eyes shut tight and slowly stretched and wriggled her muscles in preparation for getting up.

Something stirred beside her, someone moaned in wakefulness, and then the entire bed shifted suddenly.

Marinette's eyes flew open and she struggled to throw off the covers and leap to safety. As she looked around, the events of last night came back to her in a clumsy jumble. She and Tikki were staying with Master Fu; her parents were possibly near the coast; Alya might be in trouble; Gabriel Agreste was worse than she thought; Chat wasn't speaking to her; Tikki was disappointed in her.

"Morning, Bug," Adrien greeted her sleepily.

Marinette tried to wrap her head around the scene before her. Her partner was lying right next to her, one arm acting as her personal pillow, two kwami nestled on his chest. Did she just dream the conflict between them and Tikki's admonishment? Confusion was written clearly across her face.

"My Lady, you were cold," Chat yawned, as if that explained it.

And, she supposed, it did. They might disagree from time to time but they were always on the same side.

Adrien then began his own series of stretches, jostling Plagg and Tikki who grumpily moved away.

"Rise and shine!" called Master Fu. "Breakfast is waiting!"

Breakfast consisted of coffee and leftovers from dinner until Marinette stepped up and shooed their host away from his stove. It was too late in the morning to start making the signature pastries of her parents' bakery, but she whipped up a crèpe batter while Chat took a quick shower. She smeared strawberry jam in one for Tikki. With some cheeses she found in the refrigerator, she made a dish that won Plagg's loyalty even as a damp-haired Adrien returned to caution her not to indulge the spoiled kwami.

She crammed the warm treat into her mouth. After swallowing, she asked, "Well, Master, what do we do now?"

"What do you think you should do, Ladybug?" was his Zen counter.

She looked carefully at her partner. The corners of his mouth lifted in determination rather than any real happiness.

"We need to go after Hawk Moth, the sooner the better," she said. "We need to capture the moth miraculous before anyone else gets hurt."

As she said the words, a plan began to form. Yesterday's attempt hadn't gotten them very far; they would need a more direct approach. Adrien would most likely know where his father was, would know how to get past much of the security of his home. They stayed at the table for a while, working through details that they normally didn't have time for.

Fu hovered, giving them facts about the moth miraculous and hints about Hawk Moth. The miraculous, for instance, did not have much in directly offensive power; the moth was meant to inspire fighters, not lead them into battle. To counteract this weakness, it did have stronger defenses but Hawk Moth would be out of practice in calling upon those powers. Invoking those powers would also exhaust his kwami, forcing him to transform just as Lucky Charm and Cataclysm did to Ladybug and Chat Noir.

"What sort of defenses can we expect?" Adrien asked.

Fu didn't answer but wandered off. The two at the table shared a look, Adrien's more frustrated than Marinette's. Then the old Chinese man returned with a book in his arms. He laid it on the table and gently turned the pages to the passage he was seeking.

"Hey! I remember this book," said Adrien. "I borrowed it from my dad and brought it to school once. Then it disappeared."

Marinette bit her lip guiltily. "Yeah, I remember that. Someone took it from you, and Tikki took it from her, and we brought it to Master Fu."

"Do you have any idea how upset my father was when he found out his book was missing?" Adrien wasn't pleased with the memory. "He never figured out who stole it, but he fired the cleaning staff and pulled me out of school shortly thereafter."

Marinette's eyes widened. She had had no idea.

"It was my fault," offered Master Fu. "When Ladybug brought me the book, I knew I could not allow it to return to Hawk Moth."

He lifted the book to show both heroes an illustrated page. It was a drawing of a man disguised in a samurai-like costume. Chinese characters annotated the drawing. "This describes the known powers of the moth miraculous," he said.

Marinette stared at the page. She was of half-Chinese descent but that didn't mean she understood the language enough to speak it, much less read it. She forgot that Adrien had studied the language for years.

"Promotion?" he read uncertainly, he finger hovering over a section of writing.

Fu nodded. "Yes, promotion or metamorphosis is how Hawk Moth creates his champions. He also has the power to blend or camouflage to hide from his enemies."

The other two shared a look. That defense sounded fantastic, but not one they wanted to go up against.

"Like all miraculous holders, his senses are enhanced," Fu noted. "With Plagg, you can see in the dark and hear much better than a regular person. With Tikki, you can see the path to use your Lucky Charm and regain order. With Nooroo, Hawk Moth can detect the emotions and wants of others, the better to elect and motivate his champions."

"What about you?" Adrien asked.

Fu smiled. "Wayzz lets me find the most Zen path out of a conflict. We holders of the turtle miraculous do not relish the fight."

Then his expression turned serious. "There is another power - to swarm - that all the insect miraculouses have in some form," Fu continued. "Ladybugs swarm is something you are already familiar with. Bee's swarm is an offensive strike. Moth's swarm is rather the opposite of promotion; instead of granting magical powers to a champion, it drains them."

Marinette gaped. Camouflage had sounded bad, but a magic-stealing swarm was so much worse.

"Are you serious?" Adrien asked, feeling just as queasy. "Does it work against another miraculous or just on Hawk Moth's champions?"

"It would cause you to immediately lose your transformation," Fu said. "However, given the usefulness of such an attack, and that Hawk Moth has not yet employed it, it may be that Nooroo has not given him this power."

"But if he had this book, wouldn't he have learned about it?" Adrien pressed.

"Our powers don't quite work like that," volunteered Plagg. "Knowing I have a power doesn't necessarily give you access to it; the power must be given to you. But once you have it, I can't withhold it from you ever again. That's how your father is able to be Hawk Moth even though his kwami would never condone this villainy. If Nooroo didn't tell his holder how to swarm before his betrayal, you're safe. Probably."

"That's a pretty big _if_ ," said Adrien.

Marinette frowned. "But if he can't access our powers without our permission, how would stealing our miraculouses help him?" she wondered. "Wouldn't we just refuse to cooperate?"

"Taking the miraculouses was always just the first step," said Tikki. "He'll have to kill you to get the full potential from them, and if he tortures you first, you might grant him powers just to spare yourselves further pain. Of he might try to convince a kwami to release power to him to spare our holder. It wouldn't be the first time. There's a reason why we have you guard your identities so closely."

Marinette put her head on the table and shut her eyes tightly. Chat's hand began to rub small, comforting circles on her back.

"Right," he said. "So to recap, my father might have the ability to force us to transform back to our regular forms, at which point he will steal our miraculouses by force, and then torture us to reveal Cataclysm, Lucky Charm, and Miraculous Ladybug to him. Then he'll kill us. And now you probably don't want to give us any additional magic to fight him, because he might also be able to steal that too, to further his mad plans to reshape the world in his image. Is this what happened to my mother?"

Marinette lifted her head and rested her hand on Adrien's knee. He sounded as if he needed comfort of his own.

Fu's response took a while to form. "Hawk Moth has never demonstrated any power of the peacock miraculous. I believe your mother and Duusu betrayed nothing."

"Nooroo didn't betray anyone either," Plagg countered with his own vested interest. "Yet he still belongs to Hawk Moth. And now Duusu is effectively neutralized."

"Hawk Moth's swarm -" Marinette raised her eyebrows - "is it permanent? If he forces us to detransform, can we transform back?"

"Your kwami will need to recharge; it will be more draining than usual but the swarm is not permanent. With a skilled miraculous holder, it may take a day or two for your kwami to recover. You will be very vulnerable until then."

She met Adrien's eyes, Chat's eyes. "Then let's go in planning on it. Let's make sure our regular selves are just as prepared to fight as Ladybug and Chat Noir."

.o8o.

It was strange to walk away from the planning session to take a shower, but Chat and Fu had sent Marinette away while they reviewed the options they had for weapons.

Tikki came with her to keep her company and to catch a few drops from the spray for her own late morning ablutions. And to lecture her.

"Marinette, I know you have feelings for Chat, but you must remember that he is vulnerable right now."

"I don't know what you are talking about," said Marinette, stepping under the showerhead.

Tikki looked wise and disappointed. "You cannot be ignorant of your feelings as you have already shared enough on that topic," the kwami reminded her. "But now is a difficult time for Chat to think of such things. It didn't help anyone last night when you let him try to kiss you. Just put yourself in his shoes: he just found out horrible news about his father and mother; you and he are both at an increased risk of detection and danger; no matter how this is resolved, even in the best case scenario, the life he knew is now over. Even if Hawk Moth is defeated - and I am sure he will be - Chat has faced enough shocks that he may be more than tempted to follow in his father's footsteps."

Marinette stopped massaging her scalp to stare indignantly. "Now I really don't understand you. How can you even say such a thing? This is Chat we are talking about."

"Adrien is a good person with a good heart," Tikki soothed. "He never would have been chosen for the cat miraculous otherwise. But when he gives the command, he physically becomes one with the god of chaos and destruction. Even good hearts can be broken, and who can know how the pieces will fit back together? Given what happened to Adrien's father, or what has happened to previous holders of the cat miraculous, we need to be careful."

"What previous holders of the cat miraculous?" Marinette's curiosity was morbidly raised. "What happened to them?"

Tikki sighed. "'Chat Noir' is the name that Adrien chose for himself, but there have been many cats throughout history, not all of them recorded. One even called herself 'Fog' because she went in and out with the mist, never to be seen in her transformation. But the one I'm thinking about was known as 'Peste,' except that was the name that others gave him after he turned."

The word choice sounded odd to Marinette. "Don't you mean, 'after he _transformed_?'"

Tikki shook her head. "No, he was already known as 'Gatto,' but then his partner broke with him. It upset him. He got impulsive and he killed her. It was an accident but there was no turning back. He became a villain."

"He became a pest?" Surely a murderous cat would have a more fearsome sobriquet.

"Not just any pest! He became _the Peste_. Black Death."

Marinette shivered despite the hot water running down her back. The plague had been because of… Plagg? No wonder the cat kwami was so forgiving of Nooroo.

"It was a very deadly time," Tikki continued. "Once his heart darkened, there was no reasoning with him, yet we had to stop him. I lost four ladybugs. Trixx lost eight foxes. Duusu lost so many peacocks so quickly that she eventually refused to learn the name of her holder until the human had survived the first month. We finally defeated Peste, but it took five of us working in concert. After it was over, Plagg swore never to give the power of Pestilence to another."

Marinette tried to imagine Chat on a deadly rampage, destroying everything with just a touch of his hand. She knew it was physically possible, but there was no way Chat would ever do that.

"Have you ever had a ladybug go bad?" she asked.

"Of course! Loads of times." Tikki was far too relaxed about that topic. "Some people let the luck go to their head after a while and think they deserve more than they should. But I have ways of dealing with such greed."

"How?" Marinette didn't like the twinkle in her kwami's eyes. There were times like this when it was all too clear that Tikki was more than human.

"Typically, other kwami and their heroes will fight my ladybug, but sometimes I give them a mismatched power, and they destroy themselves with it," she explained.

"But you're the god of creation," Marinette pointed out. "Doesn't destruction go against that?"

"I'm also the god of luck and balance," Tikki clarified. "And balance can cover a lot. For instance, I had one ladybug who rescued his people from a great hardship. Rather than relinquish my miraculous, he held onto it and his people made him their leader. They brought him tributes and he grew to expect such treatment, to the point that he became greedy. He was not a large threat to others, not big enough to warrant interference from the other kwami, so I had to fix him myself. I gave him the power to create wealth; everything he touched turned to gold. I got the idea from Plagg's Cataclysm, you see. Eventually the power backfired on him, and balance was restored."

Tikki smiled but Marinette couldn't return the gesture.

"You can create new powers?" she asked dully. Even if they could study the book on the miraculouses, that was no guarantee that they knew what they were up against.

Tikki beamed. "Of course, silly! We're gods, remember?"


	8. Chapter 8

**GOLDEN BALANCE**

* * *

Chapter 8

* * *

The knowledge that kwami could create new and undocumented powers was not news to Fu, but she could read the worry in Chat's eyes.

"Do not be alarmed," Fu tried to console them. "New powers are typically a reaction, an attempt to restore balance. Nooroo has not needed to take such steps with Chat Noir and Ladybug keeping his holder in check. I do not mean to say this is not dangerous, but you are accustomed to facing unknown dangers. Keep your wits about you, remember what you have learned, and trust in each other."

After that, there was nothing to do but review the plan and practice different moves as they waited for evening to arrive.

They would go to the Agreste mansion and attempt to use Adrien's security codes to get through the system as far as it would let them. When they exhausted mundane tactics, they would rely on their enhanced strength and other abilities, saving their powers as a last resort.

They would really only have one shot at this; the element of surprise had an excruciatingly brief half-life. After Adrian's father knew who they were, there would be no safety from Hawk Moth's minions.

Regardless of the outcome, they were to regroup at Master Fu's by dawn. If they were able to hand over the moth miraculous, Fu would resume his role of Guardian, protecting it until a new holder was needed. If they returned empty-handed, Fu would help them flee Paris to avoid Hawk Moth's wrath. If they ran into the worst case scenario, there would be no returning.

There were so many weak spots in the plan, when they wouldn't know what to do next until they were in the middle of it. But they had entered into every fight against an evil champion with the same blindness. They were used to making it up as they went. The one part that Marinette worried about, assuming they were successful, was what to do with Gabriel Agreste when they had captured his miraculous. Once they had destroyed the akumatized object and purified the butterfly, the champions always reverted to their regular forms. These former champions were uniformly confused by what had happened and, when the situation was explained, their confusion was replaced by guilt and remorse. These people had been victims of Hawk Moth, as much as any of the other people caught in the attacks.

But Gabriel Agreste was not a victim; he was the villain. Villains should be punished or at least reformed, but how? Would they be able to hand him over to the police as Monsieur Agreste? If, upon the loss of his miraculous, he expressed immediate regret, could they believe him? At the foundation of all of this was the fact that this man was Adrien's father; anything they did to him would impact her partner. If Gabriel Agreste was publicly identified as Hawk Moth, arrested and charged with crimes, or if Gabriel Agreste was allowed to quietly disappear, what would that do to Adrien?

.o8o.

They made their way across town at dusk. Halfway to their destination, Ladybug stopped on a rooftop. Chat continued for half a city block before realizing his partner was no longer with him. He reversed course and dropped beside her.

"My Lady?" He could tell something was wrong.

She sighed a few times, trying to find the words. "I feel like I need to have a private word with you," she stumbled over the words. "But with Tikki, and Plagg, and Master Fu, that isn't possible."

He shifted his stance, getting a little closer, getting comfortable. If she needed to talk, they would talk.

"Tikki is worried about you," she said at last.

He flashed his teeth but not in a smile. "Yeah, so is Plagg, if you read between the lines."

"I think I'm worried about you too," she admitted in a small voice. At his look - hurt? betrayal? - she quickly amended, "Not for the same reasons. Tikki is worried you'll end up as a Cataclysm-inducing ladybug-killer. I'm worried you're going to lose your father and have to -"

He hugged the breath right out of her. She wasn't sure how she could have found the words she was looking for, but he heard them anyway.

"I'm sorry," she breathed at last. Black cats had no luck at all.

He gave her one more squeeze before relaxing his hold. "None of this is your fault, my Lady," he said. "Let's just agree that my father - my real father - isn't around anymore, and Hawk Moth has taken him just as surely as he's taken my mother."

She smiled sadly at the fiction, at the circumstances that had led Chat to fabricate it. "Like when the young hero believes his father was a doomed Jedi knight and then discovers his father was the evil emperor all along?"

He stiffened slightly then held her at arm's length, peering down at her. "Did you just try to talk _Star Wars_ to me?"

"Yes." Wait. Did she _try_... "Did I not get it right?"

"It's the thought that counts," he equivocated. "I think I could kiss you, but I know I shouldn't." Still he stroked her cheek in a way that neither could misconstrue as a show of platonic goodwill.

Something reminded him of their mission. He removed his hand and stepped away. "We should get going and finish this, then we can relax. I'll be fine as long as I have you."

.o8o.

Hawk Moth could not control a champion while he himself was fighting. That was a point in their favor. And they had been too quick, too successful in making their way through his defenses - defenses designed to protect a rich man like Gabriel Agreste rather than a magical terrorist like Hawk Moth - for him to enlist any of the household staff to protect him. In fact, Ladybug could have sworn that he had barely enough time to transform before they burst in on him

He could, however, blend. With a cry of "Camouflage!" he disappeared before their eyes.

Ladybug lashed out with her yo-yo at the spot where she had last seen him, but the air was empty.

"Chat?" she called nervously to her partner. With his enhanced vision, if either of them could spot Hawk Moth, it would be Chat.

"No such luck, my Lady," he answered, equally on edge. He waved his staff into a defensive stance.

She tried to use her other senses to detect their enemy, tried to hear sounds of him moving, tried to feel vibrations as he no doubt attempted to escape.

She wasn't lucky this time.

She felt the air move to her right. Before she could react, something firm crashed painfully into her skull and she was down, momentarily unconscious.

Chat was immediately over her in a protective crouch, his staff lashing out at where Hawk Moth simply had to be. Slowly her mind reentered her body, taking desultory notes of what was happening in the room. She was too dazed to follow the fight, her vision too clouded with stars, her ears too muffled by the pain in her head. Part of her was screaming to get up and help her partner, but it took a while to convince the rest of her.

By the time she staggered to her feet, the two men were in the other side of the room. Hawk Moth had Chat pinned, pressing a cane against his throat. She charged at the older man, knocking him over and freeing her partner. She stumbled, still not recovered from the earlier attack, and fell to the floor with Hawk Moth.

As Ladybug clambered to her feet, Hawk Moth was beside her. Before she could catch her breath, he grabbed her from behind, wrapping an arm around her neck. Her hands tugged on his forearm, trying to pry loose from his grasp. She tried to get her feet under her so that she could throw him off, but he kept dragging her back. Before she could free herself, she felt him grab her ear and begin to pull.

Tikki's magic fought the attempt to steal her earring. Marinette's ear felt like it was being ripped off, but the skin around her miraculous refused to tear.

Finally, Hawk Moth had dragged her to a table. He reached down to the work surface and grabbed a knife. It he couldn't remove the earrings with his hands, he'd resort to tools.

The sight of the blade as it flashed before her brought a scream to her throat. Before Tikki's magic could be further tested, Chat was up and fast approaching.

"Let her go," he commanded. "Now!"

Hawk Moth paused but Ladybug felt no relief from his stranglehold.

Chat held out his hand. The gesture was banal and threatening at the same time. "Let her go or I will end you." The air around Chat's palm wavered and blistered: Cataclysm.

"No," she whispered. Chat killing his father was wrong, the sort of thing that Tikki had warned her might happen, the first step down a path that ended in so much violence and death. What would people call him, how would he be remembered if he did this?

The knife slipped from her ear to her throat. "Keep your distance or I will end her," warned Hawk Moth.

At those words, Ladybug could see how this entire tragedy would unfurl. Hawk Moth would act and Chat would react, or vice versa with no real difference in outcome. The knife would slice through her skin, nicking the artery, before Chat could grab his father's hand. Hawk Moth would disintegrate in a column of ash and she would bleed out in her partner's arms. After that, Chat would…

What would Chat do? On the one hand, she'd be dead, so the thought exercise was academic and pointless. On the other hand, she'd be leaving behind too many people she cared about, including Chat. She couldn't let him usher in another dark age. If there was a time for Tikki to grant her the ability to see her way out of this mess, the time was now.

She looked at Chat, trying to communicate with her eyes, but his attention was fixed on his father. She needed to tell her partner to stand down, she needed the villain to ease the knife from her throat. She needed to buy everyone a little more time, but neither man seemed to notice her anymore.

Ladybug could read the subtle set in Chat's shoulders: he was going to attack with a Cataclysm resting in his hand. Hawk Moth seemed to sense it too, because he adjusted his grip, ready to do whatever to her so long as he protected himself.

Again that grim future flitted briefly before her vision and something _clicked_.

In the blink of an eye, as Gabriel Agreste repositioned his hold, the better to slit her throat, she pushed away from him. The tip of the blade cut into her skin but not fatally. There was enough space for her to breath more fully; she had room to escape. She called upon Tikki for help, praying to the little god for luck.

There was a blinding flash as if one of them had transformed but Ladybug still had her spots on and Chat still had his claws out. The look on his face, however, was something else.

Ladybug slipped out of Hawk Moth's hold and the villain fell back, landing with a crashing thud. Even before she heard the sound, she knew something was wrong. The sleeve that clad Hawk Moth's arm had changed from a silvery gray into gold.

"Chat?" she whispered weakly, afraid of the sight behind her.

He gripped a chair to discharge his Cataclysm. The furniture rusted and rotted under his touch until it fell apart and collapsed in a junky heap. His mouth opened and shut but no words came out.

Ladybug turned around and saw what she had been afraid of: a gold statue of her archenemy lying on the ground. This was the magic power that Tikki had told her about in the shower, the power to turn anything into gold, the power to destroy.

"No!" she shrieked in denial. "Tikki, spots off! Spots off!" In a flash of pink, she was standing there as just Marinette and the little red god was floating toward the statue.

"We did it!" Tikki announced as she pulled the moth miraculous from the golden form of Hawk Moth. "Thank you, Marinette."

"Thank - Tikki, don't _thank_ me," she spat out in horror.

Chat approached her from behind, arm outstretched to offer her some much-needed comfort. "Bug, it's -"

"No!" she panicked. "Don't touch me! It isn't safe." How had her partner lived this long with the power of Cataclysm? How did he bear going into the world where a thousand things could jostle against him and be destroyed?

"Marinette, you are perfectly safe right now," her kwami assured her.

Chat pulled her into a fierce hug which she was still too rattled to return.

"We have to change him back," Marinette said into Chat's chest. "Tikki, how do we undo this?"

"Marinette, I can't undo my powers," said Tikki a little too clinically. "That would imply that they've been misused."

Marinette marveled in shock. How could Tikki not see this as a mistake? How could Chat ever forgive her?

"It's okay," he whispered, rubbing her back. He knew her too well not to recognize the agony she was in.

"It's not okay!" she snapped back. Why was everyone else so calm and accepting about this? "It is very much not okay! I killed your father -"

"That man was not my father," Chat cut her off. "He's been some imposter, posing as my dad for years. He killed my mother and he was going to kill you, and I can't think of him as being in any way related to me after that."

She dared to look up at him, and saw concern for her sake shining out of his eyes as well as forgiveness and whatever else he thought she needed.

Before she could fully soak it in he stiffened and angled his cat ears toward the door. "Company's coming," he said quietly. "Get your spots on."

She nodded mutely and bit her lip before transforming. Tikki hadn't fully recharged so Marinette wouldn't be able to remain as Ladybug for long, but this would get them through the next few minutes. Chat flinched at the blaze of light but didn't release her. She was still in his arms when the first police officers entered the room.

The team of officers recognized the heroic duo and immediate lowered their guard. If Chat Noir and Ladybug were here, the situation was in good hands. Still, when the two separated and the men got a clear look at them, they were on edge again. Ladybug was bleeding from her neck and forehead, Chat was sporting a collection of nasty cuts and bruises across his face.

At the first enquiry into what had happened, Chat's ring beeped in warning. He was running out of time and would soon need to abandon the scene.

"This man," Chat gestured to the fallen statue behind them, "was Hawk Moth. We've finally put a stop to him. I know we need to discuss it further with you, but we can't right now. Can we meet you at the station in an hour or two?"

"What was Hawk Moth doing in a private residence?" blurted out one of the less experienced officers.

"It's a long story," Chat confided, "but we need to rest and recover before we can tell it. You need to let us go, and I promise you that we'll explain it later." The important thing was to get out of there quickly, before he was forced to transform into Adrien Agreste. The second most important thing was to get their stories straight before someone asked too many questions and any half-truths started to unravel.

A uniformed man approached the golden form. "What happened to him?" he asked, not understanding what he was looking at.

Ladybug opened her mouth to respond but her earrings beeped their own warning. The room seemed to sway for a moment and her knees felt suddenly weak. Chat didn't let her fall but he did announce at the others that they were leaving now. And the reputations of Ladybug and Chat Noir were strong enough that the others let them go.

* * *

So that's where I came up with the story title, and this is the chapter with the character death that earns the "T" rating. How was it?

Thanks for all the comments. And yes, Tikki _was_ a little creepy at the end of the last chapter (and in this one IMO). For all their work in supporting their wielders, I wanted to treat them as seriously powerful, non-human beings who were not aiming to measure up to our human standards.


	9. Chapter 9

**GOLDEN BALANCE**

* * *

Chapter 9

* * *

Word had gotten out that the police had responded to an emergency call at the home of renowned fashion designer Gabriel Agreste. Reporters learned that Ladybug and Chat Noir were allegedly at the scene and their curiosity grew. Claims that the superhero duo were spotted leaving the area only confirmed that they had somehow been involved with whatever had happened at the Agreste residence, and as it was Ladybug and Chat Noir, speculation automatically included Hawk Moth. When a detective emerged from the front of the mansion and spoke to the gathered reporters, he took no questions, neither confirming or denying any hypothesis shouted at him, but announced that a press conference would be given in two hours that would explain the events of the night. The detective had taken Chat at his word when estimating the needed time.

.o8o.

The death of Hawk Moth and her critical role in it shook Ladybug's confidence like nothing else. It took all of Tikki's nurturing skill and Chat's familiarity with his partner to coax her back from the metaphorical precipice. Hearing she had to then go to the police and explain what happened sent her back to square one.

It was two hours after the scheduled start that the police chief finally stood at a podium sprouting a microphone. A wall of uniformed officers stood behind him, and Ladybug and Chat Noir were standing to one side. The photographers that had remained leapt into action to capture the scene.

Ladybug stood tense and tight-lipped. She had cried for a half-hour at Fu's flat. Had she remembered her vanity, she would have felt grateful to be wearing a mask over her puffy, red eyes. Chat had a hand on her back, his thumb resting on her spine, fingertips curled just over her shoulder. After all that happened today, he should hate her but he didn't; she drew comfort from his touch.

The duo had spent over an hour with Parisian law enforcement, telling and retelling the sequence of events that they had decided upon with Master Fu. Now they only needed to stand there while the chief read the statement and answered a few questions.

Chief Grillot cleared his throat into the microphone and began to speak. "The citizens of Paris may rest easy today, for I am standing before you to announce that the terrorist known as Hawk Moth died at approximately 22h last night and his remains are currently in police custody."

There was a burst of noise as the crowd reacted to the news but Grillot held up his hand for silence and then continued. Chat knew what the man was going to say, but it still felt surreal to hear the words. He knew the truth from living through it, from discussing it with Marinette and Fu. He also knew how they had planned to distort it in their story to the police, and how the details warped even further when he and Ladybug had sat down and talked with Grillot and some detectives. Now was the final coupe as the chief focused on the parts that the police department wanted to make public, obscuring even further what had really happened. There was mention of an informant (Adrien Agreste) and hints that Gabriel Agreste had been coerced into aiding the criminal due to threats to his family, including his missing wife.

To stave off spurious questions and to control the story, the chief had more to say. "I would like to remind everyone that this is an ongoing investigation, and that while you have many questions, very little has been confirmed. We simply haven't had time to verify the facts and we know that some civilians may still be in danger. I ask for your understanding and cooperation as we investigate this case fully."

A barrage of questions followed the brief silence. Who was this mysterious witness? Was anyone else hurt in the raid? Where were Gabriel Agreste and his son? How exactly did Hawk Moth die?

While Grillot refused to give most questions a straight answer Chat felt Ladybug lean into his hand. That caught his attention which had been wandering and he finally noticed the twitch in her shoulder that directed his gaze to a cascade of curls amid the sea of reporters.

"What about the disappearance of the Dupain-Chengs?" called out Alya Cesaire. "They've been missing for over 24 hours and were recently spotted with Adrien Agreste."

The man at the podium refused to comment.

"Is that a confirmation that you are at least investigating their disappearance?" she shouted as another reporter attempted to ask a question.

Ladybug pressed herself into Chat's hand and he gave her a comforting squeeze in reply. There was nothing they could do to alleviate Alya's worry on this stage; nothing short of producing Marinette and her parents would be enough.

The rest of the conference was an unproductive blur. The police chief was too experienced to release information accidentally, no matter how many different ways he was asked the same question. At last he announced that he was done, and turned on his heel and walked out. Others on the dias followed him as the audience abandoned their earlier restraint and began shouting questions to those that remained.

As Ladybug turned to exit, a voice rang out, "Chat Noir, did you kill Hawk Moth?"

Her head snapped back in confrontation. "Who said that?" she glared at the crowd. "Who dared to say that?"

The assembled reporters fell into an uneasy hush as they shied away her angry eyes.

"My Lady," Chat whispered to her, "leave it. Let's go."

She didn't budge but continued to stare down the journalists until they all grew too conscious to look at her.

"Ladybug!" a voice cried out at last. "I'm Alya Cesaire with the LadyBlog. My friend Marinette Dupain-Cheng sent me a text saying that Adrien Agreste was dangerous shortly before she and her parents disappeared. Do you believe Hawk Moth and the Agreste family are responsible for the Dupain-Chengs' disappearance?"

There was so much wrong with Alya's question that Ladybug didn't know how to answer, but Chat Noir did. He tightened his grip on her shoulder and silently pulled her away from the crowd, toward the exit that Grillot had used.

The police chief thanked them again and tried to get them to stay longer, but the duo was exhausted.

"Can you come back in at noon, then?" the older man asked. "We have more things we need to discuss with you."

They nodded mutely, too tired to engage in conversation. Then they left the station and snuck across town to Fu's place. Dropping their transformations had to wait until they were within sight of the old massage parlor. They could navigate with greater speed and secrecy while transformed, and they wanted to avoid anyone seeing Adrien Agreste wandering in Paris at that hour.

Fu was up, waiting for them with a pot of tea steeping and a set of octagonal boxes on the table. Two suitcases were packed and waiting at the front door and the apartment smelled faintly of cleaning products, as if he was preparing to go away for a while.

The two heroes were exhausted. Even if they hadn't fought their greatest foe in a battle to the death, even if they hadn't needed to maintain a consistent facade in front of Paris' law enforcement and press, it was nearly five in the morning and they had spent the previous night sleeping on the floor. So when Fu ushered then in and sat them at the table, they were too tired to help him much and far too tired to argue.

He poured the tea into their cups, serving first his guests and then himself. Once done, he raised his cup as if in a toast. "Let us take this moment to be grateful for our victories: Hawk Moth has been stopped; the moth and peacock miraculouses are back in my care; and Paris is safe once more, thanks to her heroes."

He took a small sip of his tea and set it down. "And now I am afraid that I must ask you to prepare for travel," he said and pushed forward two of the octagonal boxes to Adrien and Marinette who sat motionless in their chairs.

"Where are we going?" Adrien asked, trying to muster the energy to grasp his teacup.

"The two of you are going to find Monsieur and Madame Dupain-Cheng. Someone has promised to deliver their daughter to them," Fu reminded them. "I have a different destination. The Guardian's job is ideally very passive, protecting the miraculouses until a new threat emerges. I can do it anywhere. After Paris has seen so much action, I think it best if I perform my duty somewhere else, somewhere quiet. But before I leave, I need your miraculouses to complete the set."

Fu opened the boxes on the table. One was clearly meant to hold a ring and the other was for earrings.

"Are you crazy?" Adrien blurted out.

"Ask your kwami if you doubt me," Fu forestalled further protest. "Your work is done. It is time for you to retire."

Adrien looked at the cat kwami who sighed heavily. "What is left to do? We beat the bad guy. You've found your ladybug. Kid, we've won, game over. I'll always remember you; I remember all of my wielders. But now I belong with the Guardian."

Before Adrien could prepare another argument, Plagg nuzzled against his shoulder. "Think of what your parents would want." Hawk Moth would no doubt encourage him to hold onto the ring and its power no matter what. His mother… knowing her fate, she would beg him to surrender the ring. It was a cheap shot but it silenced him more effectively than anything else.

Marinette then turned to her own kwami. "Tikki?" she prompted.

The little god flew close and wiped a tear from Marinette 's cheek. "I will miss you, Marinette, but the time has come to let me go. The Golden Touch is not a power you are meant to keep."

The mention of that new power caused Marinette's mouth to twist in frustration. "You should never have given it to me in the first place. If you hadn't -"

"If Hawk Moth was to be killed, it was always your burden to do it, not Chat's. Surely you can see that," Tikki said quietly, looking at her charge with big blue eyes. "Ladybugs bring order and restore balance. Of all the things that could have happened, this was the best way."

"You don't know that," Marinette said while Adrien gripped her hand in comfort.

" _I_ know that," said Master Fu. "I saw it as the best path out of the conflict. I am sorry he was Chat Noir's father, and I am sorry, Ladybug, that it was you who took action, but that one death saved so many other lives and prevented so much suffering. I for one am grateful to you. And perhaps knowing this will ease the burden you must bear."

Fu gave them a soft, sympathetic look. "But now I must ask again for your miraculouses. I have a plane to catch and I don't want to be late."

"But we can't give back our miraculouses yet. The police are expecting Ladybug and Chat Noir to return at noon for more questioning," Adrien pointed out. They couldn't appear in their civilian forms.

"Do you think it is wise to appear again?" Fu asked gently. "You have given them something other than the complete truth. A further review of the events of last night can only put you at greater risk. Give up your miraculouses and the police with not be able to find you. Ladybug and Chat Noir will vanish, as mysteriously as they first appeared. The exact truth will never come to light."

Adrien looked to his partner. Marinette tried not to flinch as she met his eyes. In her mind, the Golden Touch was an awful power, and she would bear the guilt of using it for all the days of her life. That, she was beginning to understand, was her gift to her partner. In exchange, if the only way to get rid of the threat of this new power was to get rid of her miraculous, she was ready for it.

Adrien read it all in the set of her frown and the sadness in her eyes. He nodded and agreed. Let that be his gift to her.

They each have their kwami one last sign of affection and then removed their miraculous, Marinette first then Adrien, and put them in the correct box. Master Fu gave a wrinkly smile and removed the boxes from temptation.

"And now I have gifts for you," Fu said as he brought an envelope to the table. "In here," he said, "are two tickets leaving from Gare de Lyon later today. They will take you south so that you can be reunited with the Dupain-Chengs. Pay attention to the time as the tickets are non-refundable.

"To help you on your trip," he added, "I will heal your wounds so that no one notices that either of you is injured exactly like Ladybug or Chat Noir were during the press conference. And I will apply a glamour to your faces so that no one identifies you as Marinette Dupain-Cheng or Adrien Agreste until you are far from Paris. The glamour will fade over time and you should be back to your regular selves by the time you reach the coast."

He pulled a ring of keys from his pocket. "And finally, I do not expect to return to Paris. The shop and my flat are no longer of any use to me. These keys should open every door. Please remember to lock up when you leave. I have left some paperwork behind. You have only to find it and file it to take legal possession of this property."

He placed the key ring on the table with a noisy clatter, took another sip of his tea, then carried his tea cup to the kitchen to wash it. He then returned to the table to make good on his offers to heal and disguise them. In a few minutes, a car horn was heard from the street and Master Fu announced that his ride had come to take him to the airport.

The two recent heroes rose from their seats in a daze and shuffled to the door to see him off.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste, you have both made me very proud. I wish you joy and success in your future; you certainly deserve it," he told them. "Now, I meant it about the tickets being non-refundable. Do not sit in a stupor all morning. Check the time for the train and begin to prepare. Your family is waiting for you."

With those parting words, he gathered his suitcases and stepped out to the waiting taxi and was gone. Plagg was gone. Tikki was gone. The most exciting chapter of their lives closed with barely a whimper.

* * *

Only one more chapter, but it already feels like, "what's left to tell?"

Thanks to everyone who has stuck with it thus far.


	10. Chapter 10

**GOLDEN BALANCE**

* * *

Chapter 10

* * *

The tickets Fu had left them were not so late in the day that they could nap now and trust themselves to wake up in time. Sleep would have to wait. But there was enough time for them to have showers and to stop somewhere for a quick breakfast along the way to the train station.

When it was Adrien's turn in the bathroom, Marinette washed and put away the tea things, then stood in the silent kitchen feeling numb and disconnected.

She had started half a dozen conversations only to stop when she realized Tikki wasn't there anymore. For the first time in years, Marinette was alone with her thoughts and judgements with no external source of optimism to place things in a more forgiving light.

In her mind, she had lost Chat just as sure as she had lost Tikki. Hawk Moth was gone, so they should be celebrating. She had planned for this achievement for so long; it meant that she could finally reveal herself to her partner, confess her feelings, see if he truly felt the same way. But it had gone all wrong. They had already revealed their identities and a mutual attraction. And then, in a flash, she had killed his father, and that was not something people got over or put behind them.

Marinette had wanted to defeat Hawk Moth for nearly as long as she had been Ladybug, but not like this. Not with irreversible death. Not by taking the only surviving parent from the person dearest to her in the whole world.

And it was so stupid! She had never used that power before, hadn't even realized that she had been granted it. She had no idea how to call the power or how it worked. When the time came, she had merely reached out and used it without a thought for the consequences. And she had killed someone.

Adrien walked into the kitchen at that moment to find her sobbing. He bundled her into his arms to soothe her, but that just made her feel worse. She pushed away to shield him from her tainted touch.

"You don't need to come with me," she sniffled out. "You probably want to stay in Paris. I know where to find my parents."

"Bug?" he gaped at her, trying to discover what had brought this on but she turned away from him in self-disgust. "Bug, I've just lost everything else, don't let me lose you too."

"And I'm the reason you lost it!" she exclaimed. She wanted to howl and tear her hair out.

"Hey," he said, turning her around to face him. "That's not true. I… I'm still trying to… to process what happened, but I don't hold you responsible for anything bad that happened. He would have killed you, I would've killed him if you hadn't stepped in. And you had never done that before; you didn't know you could do that."

It was a lot of the same thoughts she had had while he was in the shower, but coming from him - the injured party and the one who has the least call to forgive her - the arguments had more weight.

"After everything that's happened, Bug, I can't be without you right now," he concluded. "I know it makes me sound weak and everything, but I really need you to keep your guilt from pushing me away."

She broke down into more tears but this time she let him hold her.

When her tears finally stopped, and her face was washed again, they locked all the doors and left.

They traveled to the train station in silence but Adrien held onto her hand in the crowds to keep her close. The sidewalks were more full than usual, and cars honked in celebration whenever they drove past a particularly enthusiastic group. Word of Hawk Moth had spread and the citizens of Paris were reacting accordingly.

The impromptu festivities carried over into the métro, causing delays. It was by the skin of their teeth that they took their seats on the train, a bag of breakfast pastries and coffees clutched in their hands.

Soon they felt the sensation of movement as the train began to leave the station. Relief washed over them at making their escape. Marinette was hungry, but she was more tired. The pastry would still be waiting for her after a brief nap, and the coffee was less tempting now that she was sitting down. She curled against Adrien's arm and promptly fell asleep.

.o8o.

The little seaside town was crowded with vacationers. It should have been hard work to find two people in that mess of beach, shops, restaurants, and hotels, but Marinette found them within an hour. She first tried the places with the strongest memories and lucked out on her second spot, almost as if Tikki was still looking out for her. Of course, it didn't hurt that her parents had heard about Hawk Moth's defeat and were hoping to see their daughter now that the danger was over.

Her parents gasped when they saw her, and quickly pulled her into a crushing and tearful hug. Adrien stood close by, observing the loving family with a touch of envy. His mother had been sometimes affectionate like that, but Adrien had no memory of his father behaving with such abandon and in public.

His melancholy lasted until the moment it was swallowed by surprise as Tom saw him and shifted position to swoop Adrien into the family huddle.

They stayed like that on the sand until eyes were dry enough and Sabine could release her hold on her daughter. At Tom's suggestion, they gathered up the blankets and walked back to the one-bedroom unit they were renting where they could talk in private.

Once settled on the sofa with glasses of water and a plate of snacks, Marinette and Adrien gave an account of events that followed closely the version they had given the police as Ladybug and Chat Noir. By the time they were done, fatigue was catching up with them again.

Her parents left them to nap in a real bed while they went to the train station to purchase tickets for their return.

Upon waking, Marinette was feeling more human (and less superhuman). Tikki and her miraculous earrings were gone, and the reality of their absence was becoming more fixed. But at least Adrien was still there. After everything that had happened, he hadn't left her or turned away in disgust. He didn't hate her, or want her to suffer for what she had done to his father. Not yet, at least.

Marinette knew that they were far from alright. The events of the last few days - of the last few years! - needed to be processed. They both had issues they needed to work through alone and together. She just needed to make sure that she didn't push him away in the midst of her own internal struggles.

But for the present, she could still curl up next to Adrien, at least until her parents came back and began to bustle with preparations for dinner and for leaving the next day.

Dinner was low key. Her mother made the most of the tiny kitchenette while the other three packed and tidied. Conversation was muted until Tom recalled some stories from their last trip to the town years ago. Adrien begged for details about his girlfriend and Marinette's father willingly complied, keeping up a steady stream of increasingly embarrassing anecdotes until Sabine stepped in with stories of her own. They kept up the conversation all through dinner until everyone's faces were aching from smiling or laughing or blushing.

When the plates were put away and the towels were hung up to dry, Tom and Sabine went to bed. They had not completely surrendered their baker's hours while on this forced vacation and expected to return to work in a few days. They claimed the bed, trusting their daughter and her boyfriend could sleep well on the fold-out sofa in the main room.

To keep the place quiet while her parents drifted to sleep, Marinette took Adrien for a walk on the beach. He teased her briefly, asking if she would reenact any of the escapades he had heard over dinner. She refused, leaning into his shoulder to push him slightly off course.

"So I guess we're officially dating now," he said at last. Her parents had referred to him as her boyfriend so many times and neither had bothered to correct them.

"I guess so," Marinette agreed, then tried not to stiffen. "Unless you're not okay with that…"

"My Lady," he said, squeezing her hand reassuringly, "that's been something I've wanted for years." But there something to temper the happiness in his voice, as if publicly claiming the title didn't wipe away the difficulties that had sprung up between them.

"Chaton, if I could go back in time -" she started to apologize but he stopped her.

"I'm the one who was living with him all these years!" he countered. "If there is guilt, then let me have my share of it. He was right there in front of me, and I never knew it."

"There was magic preventing you from seeing clearly," she told him. "It protected you from him. I, on the other hand -"

"Magic protected you too," he said gently.

She nodded and they both fell silent. They both felt guilty and wrong, they both wanted to make amends to each other for having gotten into this predicament. They were both willing to give up the one person they loved and respected most in the world in penance, and they both signaled to the other that such sacrifice was unnecessary and that forgiveness was assured. But as much as Marinette wanted to keep Adrien at her side, as completely as she forgave him for not discovering that his father was Hawk Moth sooner, as completely as Adrien forgave her for the role she had played in his father's death, neither could not make the other forgive themself. But both could support each other through the healing process.

"So, what now?" asked Marinette. She could easily imagine a distant, rosy future - after the excitement over Hawk Moth's death faded, after the curiosity over Gabriel Agreste's disappearance turned into grim resignation, after she could look at her partner and not see her own failure reflected back at her - but she wasn't sure how to get there or how long it would take. As much as she had lost when she gave up her miraculous, she figured that Adrien had still lost more; they were with _her parents_ , and Adrien would never be with his parents ever again. So she would follow his lead in this, pace it however he wanted even if they never got to where she wanted to be.

Adrien frowned and squeezed her hand. The same worries that weighed heavily on her shoulders fell on his too, and he could not shrug them off. He wondered how he should mourn the father who had already been gone for years when all he felt now was emptiness, when he couldn't publicly admit yet that his father was truly dead rather than missing. He wondered how he could return to the empty house in Paris and sleep in his old bed when memories of his enemy crowded every room or if he might convince Marinette's parents to let him spend a few nights on their sofa. He wondered what was the least suspicious explanation for how he ended up with the keys to an abandoned massage parlor, and when was the earliest that he could move into the flat above it.

But truthfully he didn't want to think right now. He just wanted to escape for a little bit longer. He cast about desperately for something to do. The bright bulbs of a cinema marquee caught his eye and inspiration struck. It didn't matter what was playing - comedy, romance, action, thriller - or if they had seen it before. He picked up the pace and tugged her into step beside him.

"Where are we going?" she asked, intending to go with him no matter what.

He shrugged and kept pulling her along. "Want to catch a movie?"

/the end/

So yeah. That's it. Yay me!

Endings on long-ish stories are not my forte. Once I reach the denouement, my inspiration dries up and I race to the last line. But if you're interested... I can certainly see how we'd get to a HEA but not within a compact time and as so much of the story happened quickly (it was 3 weeks that Chat went missing but from his reveal to the walk along the beach was 4 nights/3 days), it felt wrong to slow way down for the inevitably long process that follows or to skip ahead until things resolve happily.

Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who showed interest by favoriting, following, and commenting.

-snafsnaf


End file.
